Life of the Right Hon. Sir John A. Macdonald

*€>^), 33 )

Presented to the
LIBRARY of the
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
from

the estate of

J. Stuart Fleming

VO LU M E II.

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in 2015

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LIFE OF

THE RIGHT HON.

G.C.B., D.C.L. ( Oxon .), LL.D., Q.C., P.C.

BY HIS NEPHEW

Lt. Col. J. PENNINGTON MACPHERSON, A.D.C.

VOLUME II.

“There does not exist in Canada a man who has given more of his time,
more of his heart, more of his wealth, or more of his intellect and powers, such as
they may be, for the good of this Dominion of Canada .” — Sir John in 1873.

ST. JOHN, N.B.

EARLE PUBLISHING HOUSE

1891

Entered according to Act of Parliament of Canada, in the year 1891, by Lt.
Col. J. PenninCxTON Macpherson, in the office of the Minister of
Agriculture.

James Murray & Co.
Printers and Bookbinders
Toronto

CONTENTS

CHAPTER XXV.

Meeting of Parliament, January 19, 1865 — References to Confederation in the
Speech — Mr. Macdonald moves an Address to Her Majesty on the
subject — His speech — Resolutions carried by 91 to 33 — Prorogation,
March 18th — Deputation to England. . . . . 13

CHAPTER XXVI.

1865-67.

Opposition to Confederation in Nova Scotia — Archbishop Connolly’s Letter —
Death of Sir E. P. Tache — Re-organization of the Cabinet under Sir
Narcisse Belleau — Termination of the Reciprocity Treaty of 1854 —
Extracts from Debates in Congress — History of Reciprocity — Mr.
Derby’s Report — The Globe’s editorial thereon — The Fenian Organi-
zation —Raids on Canada — Archbishop Connolly’s Letter to the
Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick — Honourable D’Arcy Mc-
Gee’s denunciation of Fenianism — Meeting of Delegates in London
—Passage of the Confederation Act — Birth of the Dominion of Canada
July 1, 1867. . 57

CHAPTER XXVII.

1867-1871.

Sir John A. Macdonald the first Premier of the Dominion — List of Ministers —
Reform Convention — The policy of the party — The position of the
Reform members of the Ministry — General election — Meeting of first
Dominion Parliament, November 7, 1867 — The Intercolonial Railway
— North-West Resolutions — Assassination of Mr. McGee — Pacification
of Nova Scotia — Mr. Howe enters the Ministry — Departure of Lord
Monck and arrival of Lord Lisgar — Second session of Parliament
April 15, 1869 — Mr. McKenzie’s Resolutions on Intercolonial Railway
— “ Better terms ” for Nova Scotia — Reconstruction of Cabinet — Red
River troubles — Third Session of Parliament February 15, 1870 — The
commercial policy of the Opposition — A Zollvereign with the United
States advocated — Sir John Macdonald’s opposition — Honourable

VI.

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

Charles Tupper enters the Cabinet — Fourtn Session of Parliament
February 15, 1871 — British Columbia Resolutions — The Joint High
Commission — Honourable Alexander Campbell’s mission to England —
Official correspondence — Names of Commissioners — Sir A. T. Galt’s
resolutions — The Globe's article thereon— Sir John Macdonald’s diffi-
cult position. .... ... 90

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Sir John Macdonald’s speech in introducing the Bill to carry into effect the
provisions of the Washington Treaty, May 3, 1872 — The clauses of
which the Bill was composed — Possible objections to mode of intro-
duction considered — The power of the House to accept or reject —
Reference to the reciprocity treaty of 1854 — Rights of Canada to the in-
shore fisheries — Liability of the United States for the Fenian raids — The
Alabama Claims — Sir John Macdonald’s appointment — Recognition of
Canada’s right to the in-shore fisheries — The difficulties of Sir John’s
position — The Canadian Government insists upon its right to control
the fisheries — Proceedings of the Commission — Reciprocity offered in
coal, salt, fish and lumber — But withdrawn because Canadian Parlia-
ment had made them free — Criticisms replied to — The Lake and
Pacific fisheries reserved — Attitude of American fishermen — Conse-
quences of rejecting the Treaty. . . * .110

CHAPTER XXIX.

Sir John Macdonald’s speech on the Washington Treaty continued — The
validity of former treaties with the United States considered — Judge
Pomeroy’s opinion — Disputes set at rest by the Washington Treaty —

The free navigation of the St. Lawrence — Opinion of Mr. Phillimore
— Canada retains sole control of the canals — Free navigation of Alaska
rivers — The St. Clair flats — The bonding system — The San Juan
boundary — The Fenian raid claims not included in the questions
submitted — England’s responsibility — A guaranteed loan — The great
importance of accepting the Treaty. . . . .146

CHAPTER XXX.

1872-74.

The Pacific Railway — Sir George Cartier’s Resolutions, April, 1872 — Mr.
Mackenzie’s opposition— Arrival of Lord Dufferin — Dissolution of
Parliament — General Election— Admission of Prince Edward Island —
The Pacific Railway Slander — Mr. Huntingdon’s Resolutions — Sir
John Macdonald’s motion for a Special Committee— Reports of the
Committee — The Oath’s Bill — Publication of Letters — Sir Hugh
Allan’s Affidavit — Adjournment to August 13th — Memorial of the
Opposition — Lord Dufferin’s reply — Prorogation — Sir John Mac-
donald’s position — The Royal Commission — Meeting of Parliament —
Mr. Mackenzie’s Amendment to the Address — Sir John’s Speech —

Contents.

vu.

Resignation of the Ministry — The Stolen Letters — Character of the
Witnesses against the Ministry — The Mackenzie Government — Disso-
lution of Parliament — General Elections— Meeting of new Parliament,
March 1874 — Pacific Railway Resolutions — Other Bills — Prorogation. 1 77

CHAPTER XXXI.

Sir John Macdonald elected Leader of the Opposition — His attitude towards
the Government — His National Policy Resolution, March 10, 1876 —

The Norfolk demonstration — Address from the Liberal- Conservative
Association — Sir John’s speech — He advocates a Policy of Protection
to all classes of Industry — Address of Mr. Thomas White, jr. , at Lon-
don — Retrospect of Canadian Tariff Legislation — Mr. Granger’s
opinion of the effect of Protection — The views of Horace Greeley
and of Henry Clay — The destruction of the direct tea trade — The
effect of Protection on the masses — Does it build up colossal fortunes ?

— England and the United States compared — The mutual interests of
the people in the Protective System — Opinion of General Jackson —

The value of a home market — Protection does not increase prices —

The policy is appropriate to Canada — Reciprocity considered — Legis-
lation must be for Canadian interests— Protection resolution carried at
a meeting of the Dominion Board of Trade. . . 207

CHAPTER XXXII.

General Election September 17, 1878 — Defeat of the Mackenzie Government
— Sir John Macdonald forms a new Government — Departure of Lord
Dufferin — Lord Lome and H. R. H. the Princess Louise — The
National Policy Resolutions, March 14, 1879 — Sir Leonard Tilley’s
Speech — A short summary of his political history — Death of the Hon-
ourable George Brown— A memorial statue erected in Queen’s Park —
Tributes to his memory by Honourable Oliver Mowat and Honourable
George Allan. ........ 254

CHAPTER XXXIII.

The Canadian Pacific Railway — Visit of Sir John Macdonald and others to
England, July 10, 1880 — Formation of Syndicate — The contract before
Parliament — Speech of Sir Charles Tupper— His review of the history
of the railway — The Poiicy of the Government — The cost contrasted
with that of previous plans — The character of the Syndicate — The
Security — The intentions and responsibilities of the Syndicate-
Exemption from taxation — Prohibition of competing lines — The
results hoped for. ....... 290

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Opposition objections to the Pacific Railway Contract — Mr. Blake’s public
meetings — The policy he advocated — Sir John Macdonald’s speech —
He gives the history of 'previous negotiations — Criticizes Mr. Blake’s

Vlll.

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

scheme — Discusses the clauses of the contract seriatim — And ably
defends the policy of the Government — A short account of the Canadian
members of the Syndicate, Lord Mount-Stephen, Sir Donald A. Smith
Mr. Angus and Mr. McIntyre and of the President, Mr. W. C.
VanHorne. . . . . . . .316

CHAPTER XXXV.

Dissolution of Parliament, 1882 — Results of General Election — Sir John Mac-
donald’s trip to England, October, 1884 — The guest of the Prince of
Wales at Sandringham — Dinner in his honour at the Beaconsfield
Club — Visit to Windsor Castle — Created a G.C.B. — Invested by the
Queen herself with the riband and star of the Order -Dinner at the
Empire Club — Monster Conservative Convention, December 9th —
Addresses to Sir John — Grand banquet in the Horticultural Gardens —
Demonstrations in Montreal — The Marquis of Lansdowne as Governor-
General — Farewell banquet at the Russell House — His remarks on the
Fisheries Question, Commercial Union and Imperial Federation —
Tributes from Sir John Macdonald and others— Arrival of Lord
Stanley — The death of John Henry Pope — Services of Sir Charles
Tupper. ... .... 348

CHAPTER XXXVI.

Dissolution of Parliament, 1891 — Address of Sir John Macdonald to the
electors of Canada — Mr. Foster’s address to his constituents — The
platform of the Liberal party — Divergent views of Sir Richard Cart-
wright, Mr. Mackenzie, Mr. Mowat, Mr. Charlton, Mr. Davies and
others — Address of Honourable Wilfrid Laurier — Conservative meeting
at Toronto — The Farrer pamphlet — Enthusiasm at Hamilton —
Immense gathering at London — A marvellous day’s work by Sir John
— Great political gathering at Kingston — Address from the Primrose
League— The Windsor demonstration — The Farrer- Wiman corres-
pondence. ....... 383

CHAPTER XXXVII.

The Policy of Protection — Marvellous national growth and increase since
1879 — Expansion of Foreign Trade — Exports to Great Britain and the
United States — Interprovincial Trade— The farmer’s best market —
Exports of agricultural products by the United States — The condition
of Canadian and American farmers compared — Prosperity in Ontario —
Abandoned farms in the United States — American writers on the
wretched condition of the farming community — Thousands hungry and
cold in Chicago — Poverty and misery in all the great centres — Mr.

Van Horne’s business-like letters — Loyalty and disloyalty — The result
if the elections — Sir John’s large majority in Kingston. . . 421

Contents.

IX.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

Sir John's strength gives way under the great strain of the campaign— He has
an attack of nervous and physical prostration — Which is followed by
paralysis and hemorrhage on the brain — Sad scenes in the House of
Commons when the nigh approach of death is announced — His hour of
rest has come — Canada’s grief — Memorable scenes when Sir Hector
Langevin announces his death — Mr. Laurier’s noble tribute — Lying in
state — The funeral at Ottawa — The journey to Kingston — Lying in
state in the City Hall — To Cataraqui cemetery — The final scene —
Movements to erect monuments to his memory — Memorial services in
Westminster Abbey — A memorial to be erected in St. Paul’s Cathedral
— Lord Dufferin’s tribute — Lines by Mrs. Roth well. . . . 449

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

STEEL ENGRA VING.

Sir John A. Macdonald (1891), Frontispiece .

FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE

The Fathers of Confederation, 29

The Earl of Dufferin ( Governor- General from June 23, 1872, until

October 18, 1878), ......... 49

Hon. Lieut.-Col. Mackenzie Bowell, J.P., P.C. (Minister of

Customs ), ........... 73

Hon. J. A. Chapleau, Q.C., LL.D., P.C. (Secretary of State ), . 93

The Hon. Sir H. L. Langevin, K.C.M.G., C.B., Q.C., P.C.

( Minister of Public Works ), ....... 93

The PIon. Sir A. P. Caron, K.C.M.G., Q.C., P.C. (Minister of

Militia and Defence J, ......... 93

The Residence of Rev. Dr. Williamson, in Kingston (Sir fohris

Headquarters during the recent Election ), . . . . .115

The Right Honourable The Marquis of Lorne, K.T., G.C.M.G.,

( Governor- General of Canada , November , 1878 , to October , 1883). 139

Lord Mount-Stephen, 163

Lady Mount-Stephen, 185

W. C. Van Horne (President Canadian Pacific Railway ), . . .211

Hon. Wilfrid Laurier, 233

Hon. George E. Foster, B.A., D.C.L., P.C. ( Minister of Finance), 225

Hon. John Costigan, J.P., P.C. (Minister of Inland Revenue ), . 255

Hon. Charles H. Tupper, LL.B., P.C. (Minister of Marine and

Fisheries ), ........... 255

Lord Lansdowne, 277

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The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

PAGE

Hon. John G. Haggart, P.C. ( Postmaster-General ), . . . 299

Lord Stanley of Preston, 323

Hon. Frank Smith,. . 345

Sir Donald A. Smith, . ....... 367

“ Earnscliffe,” 389

Interior of House of Commons ( shewing Sir John's desk and

chair draped ), .......... 407

The Funeral Leaving the Parliament Buildings, . . . 419

Interior of St. Alban’s Church on Day of Funeral ( shewing

Catafalque and Sir John's seat draped ), . . . . .431

City Buildings, Kingston, on Day of Funeral, .... 447

Sir John’s Grave, Cataraqui Cemetery, Kingston, . . . 469

LIFE OF RIGHT HONOURABLE

SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD,

Meeting of Parliament, January 19, 1865 — References to Confederation in the
Speech — Mr. Macdonald moves an Address to Her Majesty on the subject —
His speech — Resolutions carried by 91 to 33 — Prorogation, March 18th —
Deputation to England.

ARLIAMENT met again on January 19, 1865, when

the following references to Confederation appeared in
the Speech from the Throne :

“ At the close of the last session of Parliament I informed
you that it was my intention, in conjunction with my Minis-
ters, to prepare and submit to you a measure for the solution
of the constitutional problem, the discussion of which has, for
some years, agitated this Province.

“ A careful consideration of the general position of British
North America induced the conviction that the circumstances
of the times afforded the opportunity, not merely for the
settlement of a question of Provincial politics, but also for the
simultaneous creation pf a new Nationality.

“ Preliminary negotiations were opened by me with the
Lieutenant-Governors of the other provinces of British North
America, and the result was that a meeting was held at Que-
bec, in the month of October last, composed of delegates from
those colonies, representing all shades of political parties in
their several communities, nominated by the Lieutenant-
Governors of their respective provinces who assembled here,

13

G.C.B., D.C.L. (Oxon.), L.L.D., Q.C., P.C.

CHAPTER XXV.

14

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

with the sanction of the Crown, and at my invitation, to confer
with the members of the Canadian Ministry, on the possibility
of effecting a union of all the provinces of British North
America.

“ This Conference, after lengthened deliberations, arrived
at the conclusion that a federal union of these provinces was
feasible and desirable, and the result of its labours is a plan of
constitution for the proposed union embodied in a series of
resolutions, which, with other papers relating to the subject, I
have directed to be laid before you.

“ The general design of a union, and the particular plan by
which it is proposed to carry that intention into effect, have
both received the cordial approbation of the Imperial Govern-
ment.

“ An Imperial Act of Parliament will be necessary in order
to give effect to the contemplated union of the Colonies, and I
have been officially informed by the Secretary of State that
Her Majesty’s Ministers will be prepared to introduce a Bill
for that purpose into the Imperial Parliament so soon as they
shall have been notified that the proposal has received the
sanction of the legislatures representing the several provinces
affected by it.

“ In commending to your attention this subject, the import-
ance of which to yourselves and to your descendants it is
impossible to exaggerate, I would claim for it your calm,
earnest, and impartial consideration.

“ With the public men of British North America it now
rests to decide whether the vast tract of country which they
inhabit shall be consolidated into a state, combining within its
area all the elements of national greatness, providing for the
security of its component parts, and contributing to the
strength and stability of the Empire, or whether the several
provinces of which it is constituted shall remain in their
present fragmentary and isolated condition, comparatively
powerless for mutual aid, and incapable of undertaking their
proper share of Imperial responsibility.

“ In the discussion of an issue of such moment I fervently
pray that your minds may be guided to conclusions which

Speech from the Throne.

i5

shall redound to the honour of our Sovereign, to the welfare
of her subjects, and to your own reputation as patriots and
statesmen.”

On Monday, February 6th, Attorney-General Macdonald
moved, “ That an humble address be presented to Her
Majesty, praying that she may be graciously pleased to cause
a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliament, for the
purpose of uniting the colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island, in one
Government, with provisions based on certain resolutions
which were adapted at a conference of delegates from the
said oolonies, held at the city of Quebec, on October 10,
1864”

He said : — “ Mr. Speaker, in fulfilment of the promise
made by the Government to Parliament at its last session, I
have moved this resolution. I have had the honour of being
charged, on behalf of the Government, to submit a scheme for
the Confederation of the British North American Provinces —
a scheme which has been received, I am glad to say, with
general, if not universal, approbation in Canada. The scheme
as propounded through the press, has received almost no
opposition. While there may be, occasionally, here and there
expressions of dissent from some of the details, yet the scheme
as a whole has met with almost universal approval, and the
Government has the greatest satisfaction in presenting it to
this House. This subject, which now absorbs the attention of
the people of Canada and of the whole of British North
America, is not a new one. For years it has, more or less,
attracted the attention of every statesman and politician in
these provinces, and has been looked upon by many far-seeing
politicians as being eventually the means of deciding and
settling very many of the vexed questions which have retarded
the prosperity of the colonies as a whole, and particularly the
prosperity of Canada. The subject was pressed upon the
public attention by a great many writers and politicians ; but
I believe the attention of the Legislature was first formally
called to it by my honourable friend, the Minister of Finance.
Some years ago, in an elaborate speech, my honourable friend,

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The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

while an independent member of Parliament, before being
connected with any Government, pressed his views on the
Legislature at great length and with his usual force. But the
subject was not taken up by any party as a branch of their
policy, until the formation of the Cartier-Macdonald Adminis-
tration in 1858, when the Confederation of the Colonies was
announced as one of the measures which they pledged them-
selves to attempt, if possible, to bring to a satisfactory con-
clusion. In pursuance of that promise, the letter or despatch,
which has been so much and so freely commented upon in the
press and in this House, was addressed by three of the mem-
bers of that Administration to the Colonial office.

The subject, however, though looked upon with favour by
the country, and though there were no distinct expressions of
opposition to it from any party, did not begin to assume its
present proportions until last session. Then men of all
parties and all shades of politics, became alarmed at the
aspect of affairs. They found that such was the opposition
between the two sections of the province, such was the danger
of impending anarchy, in consequence of the irreconcilable
differences of opinion, with respect to representation by popu-
lation, between Upper and Lower Canada, that unless some
solution of the difficulty was arrived at, we should suffer under
a succession of weak governments — weak in numerical sup-
port, weak in force, and weak in power of doing good/ All
were alarmed at this state of affairs. We had election after
election — we had Ministry after Ministry — with the same
result. Parties were so equally balanced, that the vote of one
member might decide the fate of the Administration and the
course of legislation for a year or a series of years. This con-
dition of things was calculated to arouse the earnest consider-
ation of every lover of his country, and, I am happy to say, it
had that effect. None were more impressed by this momen-
tous state of affairs, and the grave apprehensions that existed
of a state of anarchy destroying our credit, destroying our
prosperity, destroying our progress ; than were the members
of this present House ; and the leading statesmen on both
sides seemed to have come to the common conclusion that

His Confederation Speech.

i 7

some step must be taken to relieve the country from the dead-
lock and impending anarchy that hung over us.

“ With that view, my colleague, the President of the
Council, made a motion, founded on the despatch addressed to
the Colonial Minister — to which I have referred — and a com-
mittee was struck, composed of gentlemen of both sides of the
House, of all shades of political opinion, without any reference
to whether they were supporters of the Administration of the
day or belonged to the Opposition, for the purpose of taking
into calm and full deliberation the evils which threatened the
future of Canada. That motion of my honourable friend
resulted most happily. The committee, by a wise provision —
and in order that each member of the committee might have
an opportunity of expressing his opinions without being in
in any way compromised before the public, or with his party,
in regard either to his political friends or to his political foes
— agreed that the discussion should be freely entered upon
without reference to the political antecedents of any of them,
and that they should sit with closed doors, so that they might
be able to approach the subject frankly and in a spirit of com-
promise. The committee included most of the leading
members of the House — I had the honour myself to be one of
the number — and the result was that there was found an
ardent desire — a creditable desire, I must say — displayed by
all the members of the committee to approach the subject
honestly, and to attempt to work out some solution which
might relieve Canada from the evils under which she laboured.
The report of that committee was laid before the House, and
then came the political action of the leading men of the two
parties in this House, which ended in the formation of the
present Government.

“ The principle upon which that Government was formed
has been announced, and is known to all. It was formed
for the very purpose of carrying out the object which has
now received, to a certain degree, its completion, by the
resolutions I have had the honour to place in your hands.
As has been stated, it was not without a great deal of
difficulty and reluctance that that Government was formed.

VOL II.

2

18

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

The gentlemen who compose this Government had for many
years been engaged in political hostilities to such an extent
that it affected even their social relations. But the crisis
was great, the danger was imminent and the gentlemen who
now form the present Administration found it to be their
duty to lay aside all personal feelings, to sacrifice, in some
degree, their position, and even to run the risk of having
their motives impugned, for the sake of arriving at some
conclusion that would be satisfactory to the country in
general. The present resolutions were the result. And, as
I said before, I am proud to believe that the country has
sanctioned, as I trust that the representatives of the people
in this House will sanction, the scheme which is now sub-
mitted for the future Government of British North America.
(Cheers).

“ Everything seemed to snow that the present was the
time, if ever, when this great union between all Her Majesty’s
subjects, dwelling in British North America, should be carried
out. (Hear, hear). When the Government was formed, it
was felt that the difficulties in the way of effecting a union
between all the British North American Colonies were great
• — so great as almost, in the opinion of many, to make it
hopeless. And with that view it was the policy of the
Government, if they could not succeed in procuring a union
between all the British North American Colonies, to attempt
to free the country from the dead-lock in which we were
placed in Upper and Lower Canada, in consequence of the
difference of opinion between the two sections, by having a
severence to a certain extent of the present Union between
the two Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, and the
substitution of a Federal Union between them. Most of
us, however, I may say, all of us, were agreed — and I believe
every thinking man will agree — as to the expediency of
effecting a union between all the provinces, and the super-
iority of such a design, if it were only practicable, over the
smaller scheme of having a Federal Union between Upper
and Lower Canada alone.

“ By a happy concurrence of events, the time came when

His Confederation Speech.

19

that proposition could be made with a hope of success. By
a fortunate coincidence the desire for Union existed in the
Lower Provinces, and a feeling of the necessity of strengthen-
ing themselves by collecting together the scattered colonies
on the sea-board, had induced them to form a convention
of their own for the purpose of effecting a Union of the
Maritime Provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and
Prince Edward Island, the Legislatures of those Colonies
having formally authorized their respective Governments to
send a delegation to Prince Edward Island for the purpose
of attempting to form a Union of some kind. Whether the
Union should be federal or legislative was not then indicated,
but a Union of some kind was sought for the purpose of
making of themselves one people instead of three. We,
ascertaining that they were about to take such a step, and
knowing that if we allowed the occasion to pass, if they did,
indeed, break up all their present political organizations
and form a new one, it could not be expected that they
would again readily destroy the new organization which they
had formed, — the Union of the three Provinces on the sea-
board — and form another with Canada. Knowing this, we
availed ourselves of the opportunity, and asked if they would
receive a deputation from Canada, who would go to meet
them at Charlottetown, for the purpose of laying before them
the advantage of a larger and more extensive Union, by
the junction of all the Provinces in one great Government
under cour ommon Sovereign.

“ They at once kindly consented to receive and hear us.
They did receive us cordially and generously, and asked us to
lay our views before them. We did so at some length, and
so satisfactory to them were the reasons we gave ; so clearly,
in their opinion, did we show the advantages of the greater
union over the lesser, that they at once set aside their own
project and joined heart and hand with us in entering into
the larger scheme, and trying to form, as far as they and we
could, a great nation and a strong Government. (Cheers).
Encouraged by this arrangement, which, however, was alto-
gether unofficial and unauthorized, we returned to Quebec,

20

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

and then the Government of Canada invited the several
Governments of the Sister Colonies to send a deputation here
from each of them for the purpose of considering the question,
with something like authority from their respective Govern-
ments. The result was, that when we met here on October
ioth, on the first day on which we assembled, after the full
and free discussions which had taken place at Charlottetown,
the first resolution now before this House was passed unani-
mously, being received with acclamation, as, in the opinion of
every one who heard it, a proposition which ought to receive,
and would receive, the sanction of each Government and each
people. The resolution is : ‘ That the best interests and
present and future prosperity of British North America will
be promoted by a Federal Union under the Crown of Great
Britain, provided such union can be effected on principles just
to the several provinces.’

“ It seemed to all the statesmen assembled — and there
are great statesman in the Lower Provinces, men who would
do honour to any government and to any legislature of any
free country enjoying representative institutions — it was clear
to them all that the best interests and present and future
prosperity of British North America would be promoted by a
Federal Union under the Crown of Great Britain. And it
seems to me, as to them, and I think it will so appear to the
people of this country, that, if we wish to be a great people, if
we wish to form — using the expression which was sneered at
the other evening — a great nationality, commanding the
respect of the world, able to .hold our own against all
opponents, and to defend those institutions we prize; if we
wish to have one system of government, and to establish a
commercial union, with unrestricted free trade between people
of the five provinces, belonging, as they do, to the same
nation, obeying the same Sovereign, owing the same allegi-
ance, and being, for the most part, of the same blood and
lineage; if we wish to be able to afford to each other the
means of mutual defence and support against aggression and
attack, this can only be obtained by a union of some kind

His Confederation Speech.

21

between the scattered and weak colonies composing the
British North American provinces. (Cheers).

“ The very mention of the scheme is fitted to bring with it
its own approbation. Supposing that in the spring of the
year 1865, half a million of people were coming from the
United Kingdom to make Canada their home, although they
brought only their strong arms and willing hearts, though
they brought neither skill nor experience nor wealth, would
we not receive them with open arms and hail their presence
in Canada as an important addition to our strength ? But
when, by the proposed union, we not only get nearly a million
of people to join us — when they contribute not only their
numbers, their physical strength, and their desire to benefit
their position, but when we know that they consist of old-
established communities, having a large amount of realized
wealth — composed of people possessed of skill, education and
experience in the ways of the new world — people who are as
much Canadians, I may say, as we are — people who are
imbued with the same feelings of loyalty to the Queen and
the same desire for the continuance of the connection with the
mother country as we are, and at the same time having a like
feeling of ardent attachment for this, our common country,
for which they and we would alike fight and shed our blood
if necessary. When all this is considered, argument is
needless to prove the advantage of such a union. (Hear,
hear).

“There were only three modes — if I may return for a
moment to the difficulties with which Canada was surrounded
— only three modes that were at all suggested, by which the
dead-lock in our affairs, the anarchy we dreaded, and the evils
which retarded our prosperity, could be met or averted. One
was the dissolution of the Union between Upper and Lower
Canada, leaving them as they were before the Union of 1841,
1 believe that that proposition, by itself, had no supporters.
It was felt by everyone, that although it was a course that
would do away with the sectional difficulties which existed —
though it would remove the pressure on the part of the people
of Upper Canada for representation based upon population —

22

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

and the jealousy of the people of Lower Canada lest their
institutions should be attacked and prejudiced by that prin-
ciple, yet it was felt by every thinking man in the province
that it would be a retrograde step which would throw back
the country to nearly the same position as it occupied before
the union, that it would lower the credit enjoyed by United
Canada, that it would be the breaking up of the connection
which had existed for nearly a quarter of a century, and under
which, although it had not been completely successful, and
had not allayed altogether the local jealousies that had their
root in circumstances which arose before the Union, our pro-
vince, as a whole, had nevertheless prospered and increased.
It was felt that a dissolution of the Union would have
destroyed all the credit that we had gained by being a united
province, and would have left us two weak and ineffective
governments, instead of one powerful and united people.
(Hear, hear).

“ The next mode suggested was the granting of represent-
ation by population. Now, we all know the manner in which
that question was and is regarded by Lower Canada; that while
in Upper Canada the desire and cry for it was daily augment-
ing, the resistance to it in Lower Canada was proportionably
increasing in strength. Still, if some such means of relieving
us from the sectional jealousies which existed between the two
Canadas, if some such solution of the difficulties, as Confedera-
tion, had not been found, the representation by population must
eventually have been carried, no matter though it might have
been felt in Lower Canada as being a breach of the treaty of
Union; no matter how much it might have been felt by the
Lower Canadians that it would sacrifice their local interests, it is
certain that in the progress of events representation by popula-
tion would have been carried, and had it been carried — I speak
here my own individual sentiments — I do not think it would
have been for the interest of Upper Canada. For though Upper
Canada would have felt that it had received what it claimed
as a right, and had succeeded in establishing its right, yet it
would have left the Lower Province with a sullen feeling of
injury and injustice. The Lower Canadians would not have

His Confederation Speech.

23

worked cheerfully under such a change of system, but would
have ceased to be what they are now — a nationality, with
representatives in Parliament, governed by general principles,
and dividing according to their political opinions — and would
have been in great danger of becoming a faction, forgetful of
national obligations, and only actuated by a desire to defend
their own sectional interests, their own laws and their own
institutions. (Hear, hear).

“ The third and only means of solution for our difficulties
was the junction of the provinces, either in a Federal or
Legislative Union. Now, as regards the comparative advant-
ages of a Legislative and a Federal Union, I have never
hesitated to state my own opinions. I have again and
again stated in the House that, if practicable, I thought a
Legislative Union would be preferable. (Hear, hear). I have
always contended that if we could agree to have one Govern-
ment and one Parliament, legislating for the whole of these
peoples, it would be the best, the cheapest, the most vigorous,
and the strongest system of Government we could adopt.
(Hear, hear). But, on looking at the subject in the Conference,
and discussing the matter as we did, most unreservedly, and
with desire to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion, we found
that such a system was impracticable. In the first place it
would not meet the assent of the people of Lower Canada,
because they felt that in their peculiar position — being in a
minority, with a different language, nationality and religion
from the majority — in case of a junction with the other
provinces, their institutions and their laws might be assailed,
and their ancestral associations, on wdiich they prided them-
selves, attacked and prejudiced, it was found that any
proposition which involved the absorption of the individuality
of Lower Canada — if I may use the expression — would not be
received with favour by her people. We found, too, that
though their people speak the same language, and enjoy the
same system of law as the people of Upper Canada, a system
founded on the common law of England, there was a great
disinclination on the part of the various Maritime Provinces
to lose their individuality, as separate political organizations,

24

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

as we observed in the case of Lower Canada herself. (Hear,
hear). Therefore, we were forced to the conclusion that we
must either abandon the idea of union altogether, or devise a
system of union in which the separate provincial organizations
would be in some degree preserved. So, that those who were,
like myself, in favour of a Legislative Union, were obliged to
modify their views and accept the project of a Federal Union
as the only scheme practicable, even for the Maritime
Provinces. Because, although the law of those provinces is
founded on the common law of England, yet every one cf
them has a large amount of law of its own — colonial law
framed by itself, and affecting every relation of life, such as
the laws of property, municipal and assessment laws ; laws
relating to the liberty of the subject, and to all the great
interests contemplated in legislation ; we found, in short, that
the statutory law of the different provinces was so varied and
diversified that it was almost impossible to weld them into a
Legislative Union at once.

“ Why, sir, if you only consider the innumerable subjects of
Legislation peculiar to new countries, and that every one of
those five colonies had particular laws of its own, to which its
people had been accustomed, and are attached, you will see
the difficulty of effecting and working a Legislative Union,
and bringing about an assimilation of the local as well as
general laws of the whole of the provinces. (Hear, hear). We
in Upper Canada understand from the nature and operation of
our peculiar municipal law, of which we know the value, the
difficulty of framing a general system of legislation on local
matters, which would meet the wishes and fulfil the require-
ments of the several provinces. Even the laws considered the
least important, respecting private rights in timber, roads,
fencing, and innumerable other matters, small in themselves,
but in the aggregate of great interest to the agricultural class,
who form the great body of the people, are regarded as of
great value by the portion of the community affected by them.
And when we consider that everyone of the colonies has a
body of laws of this kind, and that it will take years before
those laws can be assimilated, it was felt that at first, at all

His Confederation Speech.

25

events, any united legislation would be almost impossible. I
am happy to state, and, indeed, it appears on the face of the
resolutions themselves, that as regards the Lower Provinces, a
great desire was evinced for the final assimilation. of our laws.
One of the resolutions provides that an attempt shall be made
to assimilate the laws of the Maritime Provinces and those of
Upper Canada, for the purpose of eventually establishing one
body of statutory law, founded on the common law of Eng-
land, the parent of the laws of all those provinces.

“ One great objection made to a Federal Union was the
expense of an increased number of Legislatures. I will not
enter at any length into that subject, because my honourable
friends, the Finance Minister and the President of the Council,
who are infinitely more competent than myself to deal with
matters of this kind — matters of account — will, I think, be
able to show that the expenses under a Federal Union will
not be greater than those under the existing system of
separate governments and legislatures. Here, where we have
a joint legislature for Upper and Lower Canada, which deals
not only with subjects of a general interest common to all
Canada, but with all matters of private right and of sectional
interest, and with that class of measures, known as ‘ Private
Bills,’ we find that one of the greatest sources of expense
to the country is the cost of legislation. We find, from the
admixture of subjects of a general, with those of a private
character in legislation, that they mutually interfere with
each other ; whereas, if the attention of the Legislature was
confined to measures of one kind or the other alone, the
session of Parliament would not be so protracted and there-
fore not so expensive as at present. In the proposed Con-
stitution all matters of general interest are to be dealt with
by the General Legislature, while the Local Legislatures will
deal with matters of local interest, which do not affect the
Confederation as a whole, but are of the greatest importance
to their particular sections. By such a division of labour the
sittings of the general legislature would not be so protracted
as even those of Canada alone. And so with the local legis-
latures, their attention being confined to subjects pertaining

26

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

to their own sections, their sessions would be shorter and
less expensive.

“Then, when we consider the enormous saving that will
be affected in the administration of affairs by one General
Government — when we reflect that each of the five colonies
have a Government of its own with a complete establishment
of public departments and all the machinery required for
the transaction of the business of the country — that each
have a separate executive, judicial and military system — that
each province has a separate Ministry, including a Minister
of Militia, with a complete Adjutant General’s Department
— that each have a Finance Minister with a full Customs
and Excise staff — that each Colony has as large and com-
plete an administrative organization, with as many executive
officers as the General Government will have — we can well
understand the enormous saving that will result from a Union
of all the Colonies, from their having but one head and one
central system.

* We, in Canada, already know something of the advant-
ages and disadvantages of a Federal Union. Although we
have nominally a Legislative Union in Canada — although
we sit in one Parliament, supposed, constitutionally, to
represent the people, without regard to sections or localities,
yet we know, as a matter of fact, that since the Union
in 1841, we have had a Federal Union ; that in matters
affecting Upper Canada solely, members from that section
claimed and generally exercised the right of exclusive leg-
islation, while members from Lower Canada legislated in
matters affecting only their own section. We have had
a Federal Union in fact, though a Legislative, a Union in
name ; and in the hot contests of late years, if, on any
occasion, a measure affecting any one section were inter-
fered with by any members from the other — if, for instance,
a measure locally affecting Upper Canada were carried
or defeated against the wishes of its majority, by one
from Lower Canada — my honourable friend, the President
of the Council, and his friends, denounced with all their
energy and ability such legislation as an infringement of the

His Confederation Speech.

27

rights of the Upper Province. (Hear, hear, and cheers). Just
in the same way, if any Act concerning Lower Canada were
pressed into law against the wishes of the majority of her
representatives, by those from Upper Canada, the Lower
Canadians would rise as one man and protest against such
a violation of their peculiar rights. (Hear, hear).

“ The relations between England and Scotland are very
similar to that which obtains between the Canadas. The
union between them, in matters of legislation, is of a federal
character, because the Act of Union between the two coun-
tries provides that the Scottish law cannot be altered, except
for the manifest advantage of the people of Scotland. This
stipulation has been held to be so obligatory on the Legisla-
ture of Great Britain, that no measure effecting the law of
Scotland is passed unless it receives the sanction of a majority
of the Scottish members in Parliament. No matter how
important it may be for the interests of the empire, as a whole,
to alter the laws of Scotland — no matter how much it may
interfere with the symmetry of the general law of the United
Kingdom — that law is not altered, except with the consent of
the Scottish people, as expressed by their representatives in
Parliament. (Hear, hear). Thus, we have, in Great Britain,
to a limited extent, an example of the working and effects of
a Federal Union, as we might expect to witness them in our
own Confederation.

“The whole scheme of Confederation, as propounded by
the Conference, as agreed to and sanctioned by the Canadian
Government, and as now presented for the consideration of
the people and the Legislature, bears upon its face the marks
of compromise. Of necessity there must have been a great
deal of mutual concession. When we think of the represen-
tatives of five colonies, all supposed to have different interests,
meeting together, charged with the duty of protecting those
interests and of pressing the views of their own localities and
sections, it must be admitted that had we not met in a spirit
of conciliation, and with an anxious desire to promote this
union ; if we had not been impressed with the idea contained
in the words of the resolution : ‘That the best interests and

28

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

present and future prosperity of British North America would
be promoted by a Federal Union under the Crown of Great
Britain/ all our efforts might have proved to be of no avail.
If we had not felt that, after coming to this conclusion, we
were bound to set aside our private opinions on matters
of detail, if we had not felt ourselves bound to look at what
was practicable, not obstinately rejecting the opinions of
others nor adhering to our own ; if we had not met, I say, in
a spirit of conciliation, and with an anxious, over-ruling desire
to form one people under one government, we never would
have succeeded.

H With these views, we press the question on this House,
and the country. I say to this House, if you do not believe
that the union of the colonies is for the advantage of the
country, that the joining of these five peoples into one nation,
under one sovereign, is for the benefit of all, then reject
the scheme. Reject it i*f you do not believe it to be for
the present advantage and future prosperity of yourselves
and your children. But if, after a calm and full consideration
of this scheme, it is believed., as a whole, to be for the advan-
tage of this province — if the House and country believe this
union to be one which will ensure for us British laws, British
connection and British freedom — and increase and develop
the social, political, and material prosperity of the country,
then I implore this House and the country to lay aside all
prejudices, and accept the scheme which we offer. I ask
the House to meet the question in the same spirit in which the
delegates met it. I ask each member of this House to lay
aside his own opinions as to particular details, and to accept
the scheme as a whole, if he thinks it beneficial as a whole.

“ If we are not blind to our present position, we must see the
hazardous situation in which all the great interests of Canada
stand in respect to the United States. I am no alarmist. I
do not believe in the prospect of immediate war. I believe
that the common sense of the two nations will prevent a war ;
still we cannot trust to probabilities. The Government and
Legislature would be wanting in their duty to the people if
they ran any risk. We know that the United States at

THE FATHERS OF CONFEDERATION.

His Confederation Speech.

31

this moment are engaged in a war of enormous dimensions —
that the occasion of a war with Great Britain has again and
again arisen, and may, at any time in the future, again arise.
We cannot foresee what may be the result ; we cannot say but
that the two nations may drift into a war as other nations
have done before. It would then be too late when war
had commenced, to think of measures for strengthening
ourselves ; or to begin negotiations for a union with the sister
provinces. At this moment, in consequence of the ill-feeling
which has arisen between England and the United States — a
feeling of which Canada was not the cause — in consequence of
the irritation which now exists, owing to the unhappy state of
affairs on this continent, the reciprocity treaty, it seems
probable, is about to be brought to an end — our trade is
hampered by the passport system, and at any moment we may
be deprived of permission to carry our goods through United
States channels — the bonded goods system may be done away
with, and the winter trade through the United States put an
end to. Our merchants may be obliged to return to the
old system of bringing in during the summer months the
supplies for the whole year. Ourselves already threatened,
our trade interrupted, our intercourse — political and commer-
cial — destroyed, if we do not take warning now when we
have the opportunity, and while one avenue is threatened to
be closed, open another by taking advantage of the present
arrangement and the desire of the lower provinces to draw
closer the alliance between us, we may suffer commercial and
political disadvantages it may take long for us to over-
come.

“ The Conference having come to the conclusion that a
legislative union, pure and simple, was impracticable, our next
attempt was to form a government upon federal principles,
which would give to the General Government the strength of
a legislative and administrative union, while at the same time
it preserved that liberty of action for the different sections
which is allowed by a federal union. And I am strong in the
belief that we have hit upon the happy medium in those
resolutions, and that we have formed a scheme of govern-

32

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

ment which unites the advantages of both, giving us the
strength of a legislative union and the sectional freedom of a
federal union, with protection to local interests. In doing so
we had the advantage of the experience of the LTnited States.
It is the fashion now to enlarge on the defects of the constitu-
tion of the United States, but I am not one of those who look
upon it as a failure. ( Hear, hear). I think and believe that it
is one of the most skilful works which human intelligence ever
created ; it is one of the most perfect organizations that ever
governed a free people. To say that it has some defects is
but to say that it is not the work of Omniscience, but of
human intellects. We are happily situated in having had
the opportunity of watching its operation, seeing its working
from its infancy till now. It was in the main formed on the
model of the Constitution of Great Britain adapted to the
circumstances of a new country, and was, perhaps, the only
practicable system that could have been adopted under the
circumstances existing at the time of its formation.

“We can now take advantage of the experience of the
last seventy-eight years, during which that Constitution has
existed, and I am strongly of the belief that we have, in a
great measure, avoided in this system, which we propose for
the adoption of the people of Canada, the defects which time
and events have shown to exist in the American Constitution.
In the first place, by a resolution which meets with the
universal approval of the people of this country, we have
provided that for all time to come, so far as we can legislate
for the future, we shall have as the head of the executive
power, the Sovereign of Great Britain. (Hear, hear). No one
can look into futurity and say what will be the destiny of this
country. Changes come over nations and peoples in the
course of ages. But, so far as we can legislate, we provide
that, for all time to come, the Sovereign of Great Britain shall
be the Sovereign of British North America. By adhering to
the monarchial principle, we avoid one defect inherent in the
constitution of the United States. By the election of the
president by a majority and for a short period, he never is the
sovereign and chief of the nation. He is never looked up to

His Confederation Speech.

33

by the whole people as the head and front of the nation.
He is at best but the successful leader of a party. This defect
is all the greater on account of the practice of re-election.
During his first term of office he is employed in taking steps
to secure his own re-election and for his party a continuance
of power. We avoid this by adhering to the monarchial
principle — the Sovereign whom you respect and love. I
believe that it is of the utmost importance to have that prin-
ciple recognized, so that we shall have a sovereign who is
placed above the region of party — to whom all parties look
up — who is not elevated by the action of one party nor
depressed by the action of another, who is the common head
and sovereign of all. (Hear, hear and cheers).

“ In the Constitution we propose to continue the system
of responsible government which has existed in this province
since 1841, and which has long obtained in the mother
country. This is a feature of our Constitution as we have it
now, and as we shall have it in the Federation, in which, I
think, we avoid one of the great defects in the constitution of
the United States. There, the president, during his term of
office, is in a great measure a despot, a one man power, with
the command of the naval and military forces, with an immense
amount of patronage as head of the Executive, and with the
veto power as a branch of the Legislature, perfectly uncon-
trolled by responsible advisers, his Cabinet being departmental
officers merely, with whom he is not obliged by the constitu-
tion to consult unless he chooses to do so. With us, the
Sovereign, or in this country the representative of the Sove-
reign, can act only on the advice of his Ministers, those
Ministers being responsible to the people through Parliament.

“ Prior to the formation of the American Union, as we all
know, the different states which entered into it were separate
colonies. They had no connection with each other further
than that of having a common sovereign, just as with us at
present. Their constitutions and their laws were different.
They might and did legislate against each other, and when
they revolted against the mother country they acted as
separate sovereignties, and carried on the war by a kind of

3

VOL II.

34

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

treaty of alliance against the common enemy. Ever since the
union was formed the difficulty of what is called ‘ State
Rights’ has existed, and this had much to do in bringing on
the present unhappy war in the United States. They com-
menced, in fact, at the wrong end. They declared by their
constitution that each state was a sovereignty in itself, and
that all the powers incident to a sovereignty belonged to
each state, except those powers which, by the Constitution,
were conferred upon the General Government and Congress.
Here we have adopted a different system. We have strength-
ened the General Government. We have given the General
Legislature all the great subjects of legislation. We have
conferred on them, not only specifically and in detail, all the
powers which are incident to sovereignty, but we have
expressly declared that all subjects of general interest, not
distinctly and exclusively conferred upon the Local Govern-
ments and Local Legislatures, shall be conferred upon the
General Government and Legislature. We have thus avoided
that great source of weakness which has been the cause of the
disruption of the United States. We have avoided all conflict
of jurisdiction and authority, and if this constitution is carried
out, as it will be in full detail in the Imperial Act to be passed
if the colonies adopt the scheme, we will have, in fact, as I
said before, all the advantages of a Legislative union under
one Administration, with, at the same time, the guarantees for
local institutions and for local laws, which are insisted upon
by so many in the provinces now, I hope, to be united.

“ The desire to remain connected with Great Britain, and
to retain our allegiance to Her Majesty, was unanimous. Not
a single suggestion was made that it could, by any possibility,
be for the interests of the colonies, or of any section or portion
of them, that there should be a severence of our connection.
Although we knew it to be possible that Canada, from her
position, might be exposed to all the horrors of war, by
reasons of causes of hostility arising between Great Britain
aud the United States— causes over which we had no control,
and which we had no hand in bringing about — yet there was
a unanimous feeling of willingness to run all the hazards of

His Confederation Speech.

35

war, if war must come, rather than lose the connection between
the mother country and these colonies. (Cheers).

“We provide that ‘ the executive authority shall be
administered by the Sovereign personally, or by the repre-
sentative of the Sovereign duly authorized.’ It is too much
to expect that the Queen should vouchsafe us her personal
governance or presence, except to pay us, as the heir-apparent
of the Throne, our future Sovereign, has already paid us, the
graceful compliment of a visit. The executive authority
must, therefore, be administered by Her Majesty’s representa-
tive. We place no restriction on Her Majesty’s prerogative in
the selection of her representative. As it is now, so it will be
if this Constitution is adopted. The Sovereign has unrestricted
freedom of choice. Whether in making her selection she may
send us one of her own family, a Royal Prince, as a Viceroy
to rule over us, or one of the great statesmen of England to
represent her, we know not. We leave that to Her Majesty
in all confidence. But we may be permitted to hope that,
when the union takes place, and we become the great country
which British North America is certain to be, it will be an
object worthy the ambition of the statesmen of England to be
charged with presiding over our destinies. (Hear, hear).

“ Let me now invite the attention of the House to the
provisions in the Constitution respecting the legislative power.
The sixth resolution says, * there shall be a General Legis-
lature or Parliament for the Federated Provinces, composed
of a Legislative Council and a House of Commons.’ The
Legislature of British North America will be composed of
Kings, Lords, and Commons. The Legislative Council will
stand in the same relation to the Lower House, as the House
of Lords to the House of Commons in England, having the
same power of initiating all matters of legislation, except
the granting of money. As regards the Lower House, it
may not appear to matter much, whether it is called the
House of Commons or House of Assembly. It will bear
whatever name the Parliament of England may choose to
give it, but 1 The House of Commons ’ is the name we should
prefer, as showing that it represents the Commons of Canada,

36

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

in the same way that the English House of Commons
represents the Commons of England, with the same privileges,
the same parliamentary usage, and the same parliamentary
authority. In settling the constitution of the Lower House,
that which peculiarly represents the people, it was agreed
that the principle of representation based on population
should be adopted, and the mode of applying that principle
is fully developed in these resolutions. When I speak of
representation by population, the House will, of course, under-
stand that universal suffrage is not in any way sanctioned,
or admitted by these resolutions, as the basis on which the
constitution of the popular branch should rest.

“ In order to protect local interests, and to prevent sec-
tional jealousies, it was found requisite that the three great
divisions into which British North America is separated,
should be represented in the Upper House on the principle
of equality. There are three great sections, having different
interests, in this proposed Confederation. We have Western
Canada, an agricultural country far away from the sea, and
having the largest population, who have agricultural interests
principally to guard. We have Lower Canada, with other
and separate interests, and especially with institutions and
laws which she jealously guards against absorption by any
larger, more numerous, or stronger power. And we have
the Maritime Provinces, having also different sectional inter-
ests of their own, having, from their position, classes and
interests which we do not know in Western Canada. Accord-
ingly, in the Upper House — the controlling and regulating,
but not the initiating, branch (for we know that here, as in
England, to the Lower House will practically belong the
initiation of matters of great public interest), in the House
which has the sober second thought in legislation — it is pro-
vided that each of those great sections shall be represented
equally by twenty-four members. An hereditary Upper
House is impracticable in this young country.

“ Here we have none of the elements for the formation
of a landlord aristocracy — no men of large territorial positions
— no class separated from the mass of the people. An

His Confederation Speech.

37

hereditary body is altogether unsuited to our state of society
and would soon dwindle into nothing. The only mode of
adapting the English system to the Upper House, is by
conferring the power of appointment on the Crown (as the
English peers are appointed), but that the appointments
should be for life. The arguments for an elective council
are numerous and strong ; and I ought to say so, as one
of the Administration, responsible for introducing the elective
principle into Canada. (Hear, hear). I hold that this prin-
ciple had not been a failure in Canada ; but there were causes
— which we did not take into consideration at the time — why,
it did not so fully succeed in Canada as we had expected.
At first, I admit, men of the first standing did come forward,
but we have seen that in every succeeding election in both
Canadas there has been an increasing disinclination, on the
part of men of standing and political experience and weight
in the country, to become candidates ; while, on the other
hand, all the young men, the active politicians, those who
have resolved to embrace the life of a statesman, have sought
entrance to the House of Assembly.

“ The nominative system in this country was to a great
extent successful before the introduction of responsible gov-
ernment. Then the Canadas were to a great extent Crown
colonies, and the upper branch of the legislature consisted of
gentlemen chosen from among the chief judicial and ecclesias-
tical dignitaries, the heads of departments, and other men of
the first position in the country. Those bodies commanded
great respect from the character, standing and weight of the
individuals composing them, but they had little sympathy
with the people or their representatives, and collisions with
the Lower House frequently occurred, especially in Lower
Canada. When responsible government was introduced it
became necessary for the Governor of the day to have a body
of advisers who had the confidence of the House of Assembly
which could make or unmake Ministers as it chose. The
Lower House, in effect, pointed out who should be nominated
to the Upper House; for the Ministry, being dependent alto-
gether on the lower branch of the legislature for support,

38 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

selected members for the Upper House from among their
political friends at the dictation of the House of Assembly.
The Council was becoming less and less a substantial check
on the legislation of the Assembly, but under the system now
proposed, such will not be the case. No Ministry can in
future do what they have done in Canada before. They
cannot, with the view of carrying any measure, or of strength-
ening the party, attempt to over-rule the independent opinion
of the Upper House by filling it with a number of its
partizans and political supporters. The provision in the
Constitution, that the Legislative Council shall consist of a
limited number of members, that each of the great sections
shall appoint twenty-four members and no more, will prevent
the Upper House from being swamped from time to time by
the Ministry of the day for the purpose of carrying out their
own schemes or pleasing their partizans. The fact of the
Government being prevented from exceeding a limited num-
ber will preserve the independence of the Upper House, and
make it, in reality, a separate and distinct chamber, having a
legitimate and controlling influence in the legislation of the
country.

“ The objection has been taken, that, in consequence of the
Crown being deprived of the right of unlimited appointment,
there is a chance of a dead-lock arising between the two
branches of the Legislature, a chance that the Upper House,
being altogether independent of the Sovereign, of the Lower
House, and of the advisers of the Crown, may act indepen-
dently, and so independently as to produce a dead-lock. I do
not anticipate any such result. In the first place we know
that in England it does not arise. There would be no use of
an Upper House if it did not exercise, when it thought
proper, the right of opposing or amending or postponing
the legislation of the Lower House. It would be of no value
whatever were it a mere chamber for registering the decrees
of the Lower House. It must be an independent House,
having a free action of its own, for it is only valuable as being
a regulating body, calmly considering the legislation initiated
by the popular branch, and preventing any hasty or ill-con-

His Confereration Speech.

39

sidered legislation which may come from that body, bat it will
never set itself in opposition against the deliberate and
understood wishes of the people. Even the House of Lords,
which as an hereditary body is far more independent than one
appointed for life can be ; whenever it ascertains what is the
calm, deliberate will of the people of England, yields, and
never in modern times has there been, in fact or act, any
attempt to over-rule the decisions of that House by the
appointment of new peers, excepting, perhaps, once in the
reign of Queen Anne.

“In this country, we must remember, that the gentlemen
who will be selected for the Legislative Council, stand on a
very different footing from the peers of England. They have
not, like them, any ancestral associations or position derived
from history. They have not that direct influence on the
people themselves, or on the popular branch of the legislature,
which the peers of England exercise, from their great wealth,
their vast territorial possessions, their numerous tenantry, and
that prestige with which the exalted position of their class for
centuries has invested them. (Hear, hear). The members of
our Upper House will be, like those of the Lower, men of the
people, and from the people. The man put into the Upper
House is as much a man of the people the day after, as the
day before his elevation. Springing from the people, and one
of them, he takes his seat in the Council with all the sym-
pathies and feelings of a man of the people, and when he
returns home at the end of the session, he mingles with them
on equal terms, and is influenced by the same feelings and
associations and events, as those which affect the mass around
him. And is it then to be supposed that the members of the
upper branch of the Legislature will set themselves deliberate-
ly at work to oppose what they know to be the settled
opinions and wishes of the people of the country ? They will
not do it. There is no fear of a dead-lock between the two
Houses. There is an infinitely greater chance of a dead-lock
between the two branches of the Legislature, should the
elective principle be adopted, than with a nominated Chamber
chosen by the Crown, and having no mission from the people.

40

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

The members of the Upper Chamber would then come
from the people as well as those of the Lower House, and
should any difference ever arise between both branches, the
former could say to the members of the popular branch : ‘We
as much represent the feelings of the people as you do,
and even more so ; we are not elected from small localities
and for a short period ; you as a body were elected at a par-
ticular time, when the public mind was running in a particular
channel ; you were returned to Parliament, not so much repre-
senting the general views of the country on general questions,
as upon the particular subjects which happened to engage the
minds of the people when they went to the polls. We have as
much right, or a better right, than you to be considered as
representing the deliberate will of the people on general ques-
tions, and therefore we will not give way.’ (Hear, hear).
There is, I repeat, a greater danger of an irreconcilable differ-
ence of opinion between the two branches of the Legislature,
if the Upper be elective, than if it holds its commission from
the Crown.

“ Besides, it must be remembered that an Upper House,
the members of which are to be appointed for life, would not
have the same quality of permanence as the House of Lords ;
our members would die ; strangers would succeed them,
whereas son succeeded father in the House of Lords. Thus
the changes in the membership and state of opinion in
our Upper House would always be more rapid than in
the House of Lords. To show how speedily changes have
occurred in the Upper House, as regards life members, I will
call the attention of the House to the following facts : — At
the call of the House in February, 1856, forty-two life
members responded ; two years afterwards, in 1858, only
thirty-five answered to their names ; in 1862 there were
only twenty-five life members left, and in 1864, but twenty-
one. (Hear, hear). This shows how speedily changes take
place in the life membership. But, remarkable as this
change has been, it is not so great as that in regard to
the elected members. Though the elective principle only
came into force in 1856, and although only twelve men were

His Confederation Speech.

4i

elected that year and twelve more every two years since, twen-
ty-four changes have already taken place by the decease
of members, by the acceptance of office, and by resignation.
So it is quite clear that, should there be on any question
a difference of opinion between the Upper and Lower Houses,
the Government of the day being obliged to have the confi-
dence of the majority in the popular branch, would, for
the purpose of bringing the former into accord and sympathy
with the latter, fill up any vacancies that might occur with
men of the same political feelings and sympathies with the
Government, and consequently with those of the majority in
the popular branch ; and all the appointments of the Admin-
istration would be made with the object of maintaining
the sympathy and harmony between the two Houses. (Hear,
hear).

“ There is this additional advantage to be expected from
the limitation. To the Upper House is to be confided the
protection of sectional interests ; therefore is it that the three
great divisions are there equally represented, for the purpose
of defending such interests against the combinations of
majorities in the Assembly. It will, therefore, become the
interest of each section to be represented by its very best men,
and the members of the Administration who belong to each
section will see that such men are chosen, in case of a
vacancy in their section.

“ In the formation of the House of Commons, the principle
of representation by population has been provided for in a
manner equally ingenious and simple. The introduction of
this principle presented at first the apparent difficulty of a
constantly increasing body, until, with the increasing popula-
tion, it would become inconveniently and expensively large.
But by adopting the representation of Lower Canada as a
fixed standard — as the pivot on which the whole would turn —
that province being the best suited for the purpose, on account
of the comparatively permanent character of its population,
and from its having neither the largest nor least number of
inhabitants, we have been enabled to overcome the difficulty I
have mentioned. We have introduced the system of repre-

42

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

sentation by population without the danger of an inconvenient
increase in the number of representatives on the recurrence of
each decennial period. The whole thing is worked by a simple
rule of three. For instance, we have in Upper Canada
i, 400, coo of a population ; in Lower Canada 1,100,000. Now,
the proposition is simply this, if Lower Canada, with its
population of 1,100,000, has a right to sixty-five members, how
many members should Upper Canada have, with its larger
population of 1,400,000 ? The same rule applies to the other
provinces, the proportion is always observed, and the principle
of representation by population carried out, while, at the same
time, there will not be decennially an inconvenient increase in
the members of the Lower House. At the same time there is
a constitutional provision that hereafter, if deemed advisable,
the total number of representatives may be increased from
194, the number fixed in the first instance. In that case, if an
increase is made, Lower Canada is still to remain the pivot on
which the whole calculation will turn. If Lower Canada,
instead of sixty-five, shall have seventy members, then the
calculation will be, if Lower Canada has seventy members,
with such a population, how many shall Upper Canada have
with a larger population ?

“ I was in favour of a larger House than 194,
but was overruled. I was, perhaps, singular in the
opinion, but I thought it would be well to commence witli
a larger representation in the lower branch. The arguments
against this were, that, in the first place, it would cause
additional expense ; in the next place, that in a new country
like this, we could not get a sufficient number of qualified men
to be representatives. My reply was that the number is
rapidly increasing as we increase in education and wealth :
that a larger field would be open to political ambition by
having a larger body of representatives ; that by having
numerous and smaller constituencies, more people would be
interested in the working of the union, and that there would be
a wider field for selection for leaders of governments and the
leaders of parties. These are my individual sentiments, which,
perhaps, I have no right to express here, but I was overruled,

His Confederation Speech.

43

and wefixed on the number of 194, which no one will say is
large or extensive, when it is considered that our present
number in Canada alone is 130. The difference between 130
and 194 is not great, considering the large increase that will be
made to our population when Confederation is carried into
effect.

“ While the principle of representation by population is
adopted with respect to the popular branch of the Legislature,
not a single member of the conference, as I stated before, not
a single one of the representatives of the Government or of
the Opposition, or any one of the Lower Provinces, was in
favour of universal suffrage. Every one felt that in this
respect the principle of the British Constitution should be
carried out, and that classes and property should be repre-
sented as well as numbers. Insuperable difficulties would
have presented themselves if we had attempted to settle now
the qualification for the elective franchise. We have different
laws in each of the colonies, fixing the qualification of electors
for their own local legislatures ; and we therefore adopted a
similar clause to that which is contained in the Canada Union
Act of 1841, viz., that all the laws which affected the qualifica-
tion of members and of voters, which effected the appoint-
ment and conduct of returning officers, and the proceedings at
elections, as well as the trial of controverted elections in the
separate provinces, should obtain in the first election to the
Confederate Parliament, so that every man who has now a
vote in his own province should continue to have a vote in
choosing a representative to the first Federal Parliament.
And it was left to the Parliament of the Confederation, as one
of their first duties, to consider and to settle by an act of their
own the qualification for the elective franchise, which would
apply to the whole Confederation.

“In considering the question of the duration of Parlia-
ment, we came to the conclusion to recommend a period
of five years. I was in favour of a longer period. I thought
that the duration of the Local Legislatures should not be
shortened so as to be less than four years, as at present, and
that the General Parliament should have as long a duration

44

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

as that of the United Kingdom. I was willing to have gone
to the extent of seven years ; but a term of five years was
preferred, and we had the example of New Zealand carefully
considered, not only locally, but by the Imperial Parliament,
and which gave the Provinces of those Islands a General
Parliament with a duration of five years. But it was a
matter of little importance whether five years or seven years
was the term, the power of dissolution by the Crown having
been reserved. I find, on looking at the duration of Parlia-
ments since the accession of George III. to the Throne,
that excluding the present Parliament, there have been seven-
teen Parliaments, the average period of whose existence has
been about three years and a half. That average is less
than the average duration of the Parliaments in Canada since
the Union, so that it was not a matter of much importance
whether we fixed upon five or seven years as the period of
duration of our General Parliament. In short, this Parlia-
ment shall settle what shall be the different constituencies
electing members to the first Federal Parliament. And so
the other provinces, the Legislatures of which will fix the
limits of their several constituencies in the session in which
they adopt the new constitution. Afterwards the Local Legis®
latures may alter their own electoral limits as they please,
for their own local, elections. But it would evidently be
improper to leave to the Local Legislatures the power to
alter the constituencies sending members to the General
Legislature after the General Legislature shall have been
called into existence. Were this the case, a member of the
General Legislature might at any time find himself ousted
from his seat by an alteration of his constituency by the
Local Legislature in his section.

“ I shall not detain the House by entering into a con-
sideration at any length of the different powers conferred
upon the General Parliament as contradistinguished from
those reserved to the Local Legislatures ; but any honourable
member, on examining the list of different subjects which
are to be assigned to the General and Local Legislatures
respectively, will see that all the great questions which affect

His Confederation Speech.

45

the general interests of the Confederacy as a whole, are
confided to the Federal Parliament, while the local interests
and local laws of each section are preserved intact, and
intrusted to the care of the local bodies. As a matter of
course, the General Parliament must have the power of deal-
ing with the public debt and property of the Confederation.
Of course, too, it must have the regulation of trade and
commerce, of customs and excise. The Federal Parliament
must have the sovereign power of raising money from such
sources and by such means as the representatives of the
people will allow.

“It will be seen that the Local legislatures have the
control of all local works ; and it is a matter of great import-
ance, and one of the chief advantages of the Federal Union
and of Local Legislatures, that each province will have the
power and means of developing its own resources and aiding
its own progress, after its own fashion and in its own way.
Therefore, all the local improvements, all local enterprises
or undertakings of any kind, have been left to the care and
management of the Local Legislatures of each province.
(Cheers).

“ It is provided that all ‘ lines of steam or other ships,
railways, canals and other works, connecting any two or
more of the Provinces together, or extending beyond the
limits of any province/ shall belong to the General Govern-
ment and be under the control of the General Legislature.
In like manner, ‘ lines of steamships between the Federated
Provinces and other countries, telegraph communication and
the incorporation of telegraph companies, and all such works
as shall, although lying within any province, be specially
declared by the Acts authorizing them, to be for the general
advantage/ shall belong to the General Government. For
instance, the Welland Canal, though lying wholly within one
section, and the St. Lawrence Canals in two only, may be
properly considered national works, and for the general
benefit of the whole Federation. Again, the census, the
ascertaining of our numbers and the extent of our resources,
must, as a matter of general interest, belong to the General

46

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

Government. So also with the defences of the country. One
of the great advantages of Confederation is, that we shall
have a united, a concerted, and uniform system of defence.
(Hear). We are at this moment with a different militia
system in each Colony — in some of the Colonies with an
utter want of any system of defence. We have a number
of separate staff establishments, without any arrangement
between the colonies as to the means, either of defence or
offence. But, under the Union, we will have one system
of defence and one system of militia organization. In the
event of the Lower Provinces being threatened, we can send
the large militia forces of Upper Canada to their rescue.
Should we have to fight on our lakes against a foreign foe,
we will have the hardy seamen of the Lower Provinces
coming to our assistance and manning our vessels. (Hear,
hear). We will have one system of defence and be one
people, acting together alike, in times of peace and in war.
(Cheers).

“The criminal law, too, — the determination of what is
a crime and what is not, and how crime shall be punished
— is left to the General Government. This is a matter almost
of necessity. It is of great importance that we should have
the same criminal law throughout the Provinces — that what
is a crime in one part of British America, should be a crime
in every part — that there should be the same protection of life
and property in one as in another. It is one of the defects
in the United States system, that each separate state has
or may have a criminal code of its own — that what may
be a capital offence in one state, may be a venial offence,
punishable slightly, in another. But, under our Constitution,
we shall have one body of criminal law based on the criminal
law of England, and operating equally throughout British
America, so that a British American, belonging to what
province he may, or going to any other part of the Confedera-
tion, knows what his rights are in that respect, and what
his punishment will be if an offender against the criminal
laws of the land. I think this is one of the most marked
instances in which we take advantage of the experience

His Confederation Speech.

47

derived from our observations of the defects in the Constitu-
tion of the neighbouring Republic. (Hear, hear).

“ The thirty-third provision is of very great importance to
the future well-being of these colonies. It commits to the
General Parliament the ‘ rendering uniform all or any of the
laws relative to property and civil rights in Upper Canada,
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Prince
Edward Island, and rendering uniform the procedure of aU
or any of the courts of these provinces/ The great principles
which govern the laws of all the provinces, with the single
exception of Lower Canada, are the same, although there may
be a divergence in details, and it is gratifying to find, on the
part of the Lower Provinces, a general desire to join together
with Upper Canada in this matter, and to procure, as soon as
possible, an assimilation of the statutory laws and the proce-
dure in the courts, of all these provinces. At present there is
a good deal of diversity. In one of the colonies, for instance,
they have no municipal system at all. In another, the muni-
cipal system is merely permissive, and has not been adopted
to any extent. Although, therefore, a legislative union was
found to be almost impracticable, it was understood, so far as
we could influence the future, that the first act of the Confed-
eration Government should be to procure an assimilation of a
statutory law of all those provinces, which has, as its root and
foundation, the common law of England. But to prevent
local interests from being over-ridden, the same section makes
provision, that, while power is given to the General Legislature
to deal with this subject, no change in this respect should
have the force and authority of law in any province until
sanctioned by the Legislature of that province. (Hear, hear).

“ The General Legislature is to have power to establish a
General Court of Appeal for the federated provinces. Although
the Canadian Legislature has always had the power to estab-
lish a Court of Appeal, to which appeals may be made from
the Courts of Upper and Lower Canada, we have never
availed ourselves of the power. Upper Canada has its own
Court of Appeal, so has Lower Canada. And this system
will continue until a General Court of Appeal shall be estab-

48

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

lished by the General Legislature The Constitution does
not provide that such a court shall be established. There are
many arguments for and against the establishment of such a
court. But it was thought wise and expedient to put into the
Constitution a power to the General Legislature, that, if after
full consideration they think it advisable to establish a General
Court of Appeal from all the Superior Courts of all the
provinces, they may do so. (Hear, hear).

“ I shall not go over the other powers that are conferred
on the General Parliament. Most of them refer to matters of
financial and commercial interest, and I leave those subjects
in other and better hands. Besides all the powers that are
specially given in the thirty -seventh and last item of this
portion of the Constitution, confers on the General Legis-
lature the general mass of sovereign legislation, the power to
legislate on ‘ all matters of a general character, not specially
and exclusively reserved for the Local Governments and Legis-
latures/ This it precisely the provision which is wanting in
the Constitution of the United States. It is here that we find
the weakness of the American system — the point where the
American Constitution breaks down. (Hear, hear). It is in
itself a wise and necessary provision. We thereby strengthen
the central Parliament and make the Confederation one
people and one government, instead of five peoples and five
governments, with merely a point of authority connecting us
to a limited and insufficient extent.

“ With respect to the Local Governments, it is provided that
each shall be governed by a chief executive officer, who shall
be nominated by the General Government. As this is to be
one united province, with the Local Governments and Legisla-
tures subordinate to the General Government and Legislature,
it is obvious that the chief executive officer in each of the
provinces must be subordinate as well. The General Govern-
ment assumes towards the Local Governments precisely the
same position as the Imperial Government holds with respect
to each of the colonies now, so that as the Lieutenant-
Governor of each of the different provinces is now appointed
directly by the Queen, and is directly responsible and reports

THE EARL OF DUFFERIN, K.P., K.C.B., G.C.M.G. {Lord Dufferin).
{Governor-General from June 25, 1872, until October 18, 1878).

His Confederation Speech.

5i

directly to her, so will the Executives of the Local Govern-
ments hereafter be subordinate to the representative of the
Queen and be responsible and report to him.

“ There are numerous subjects which belong, of right, both
to the Local and the General Parliaments. In all these cases
it is provided, in order to prevent a conflict of authority, that
where there is concurrent jurisdiction in the General and
Local Parliaments, the same rule should apply as now applies
in cases where there is concurrent jurisdiction in the Imperial
and in the Provincial Parliaments, and that when the legisla-
tion of the one is adverse to or contradictory of the legislation
of the other, in all such cases the action of the General
Parliament must overrule, ex-necessitate , the action of the
Local Legislature. (Hear, hear).

“We have introduced also all those provisions which are
necessary in order to the full working out of the British
Constitution in these provinces. We provide that there shall
be no money votes, unless those votes are introduced in the
popular branch of the Legislature on the authority of the
responsible advisers of the Crown — those with whom the
responsibility rests of equalizing revenue and expenditure —
that there can be no expenditure or authorization of expendi-
ture by Address or in any other way unless initiated by the
Crown on the advice of its responsible advisers. (Hear, hear).

“ The last resolution of any importance is one which,
although not affecting the substance of the Constitution, is of
interest to us all. Is it that ‘ Her Majesty the Queen be
solicited to determine the rank and name of the federated
provinces ?’ I do not know whether there will be any expres-
sion of opinion in this House on this subject, whether we are
to be a vice-royalty, or whether we are still to retain our
name and rank as a province. But I have no doubt Her
Majesty will give the matter her gracious consideration, that
she will give us a name satisfactory to us all, and that the rank
she will confer upon us will be a rank worthy of our position,
of our resources, and of our future. (Cheers).

“ One argument, but not a strong one, has been used
against this Confederation, that it is an advance towards

52

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

independence. Some are apprehensive that the very fact of our
forming this Union will hasten the time when we shall be
severed from the mother country. I have no apprehension of
that kind. I believe it will have the contrary effect. I believe
that as we grow stronger, that, as it is felt in England we
have become a people, able from our union, our strength, our
population, and the development of our resources, to take our
position among the nations of the world, she will be less
willing to part with us than she would be now, when we are
broken up into a number of insignificant colonies, subject to
attack piece-meal without any concerted action or common
organization of defence. I am strongly of opinion that year
by year, as we grow in population and in strength, England
will more see the advantages of maintaining the alliance
between British North America and herself. Does anyone
imagine that, when our population instead of three and a half,
will be seven millions, as it will be ere many years pass, we
would be one whit more willing than now to sever the connec-
tion with England? Would not those seven millions be just
as anxious to maintain their allegiance to the Queen and their
connection with the mother country as we are now ? Will
the addition to our numbers of the people of the Lower
Provinces, in any way lessen our desire to continue our
connection with the mother country ? I believe the people of
Canada east and west, to be truly loyal. But, if they can by
possibility be exceeded in loyalty, it is by the inhabitants of
the Maritime Provinces. Loyalty with them is an over-ruling
passion. (Hear, hear). In all parts of the Lower Provinces
there is a rivalry between the opposing political parties as to
which shall most strongly express and most effectively carry
out the principle of loyalty to Her Majesty and to the British
Crown. (Hear, hear).

“ When this union takes place, we will be at the outset no
inconsiderable people. And with a rapidly increasing popula-
tion — for I am satisfied that under this union our population
will increase in a still greater ratio than ever before — with
increased credit — with a higher position in the eyes of Europe
— with the increased security we can offer to immigrants, who

His Confederation Speech.

53

would naturally prefer to seek a new home in what is known
to them as a great country, than in any one little colony
or another — with all this I am satisfied that, great as has been
our increase in the last twenty-five years since the union
between Upper and Lower Canada, our future progress, during
the next quarter of a century, will be vastly greater. (Cheers).
And when, by means of this rapid increase, we become a
nation of eight or nine millions of inhabitants, our alliance will
be worthy of being sought by the great nations of the earth.
(Hear, hear). I am proud to believe that our desire for
a permanent alliance will be reciprocated in England. I
know that there is a party in England — but it is inconsider-
able in numbers, though strong in intellect and power — which
speaks of the desirability of getting rid of the colonies, but I
believe such is not the feeling of the statesmen and the people
of England. I believe it will never be the deliberately
expressed determination of the Government of Great Britain.
(Hear, hear).

“ The colonies are now in a transition state. Gradually a
different colonial system is being developed — and it will
become, year by year, less a case of dependence on our part,
and of over-ruling protection on the part of the mother coun-
try, and more a case of a healthy and cordial alliance. Instead
of looking upon us merely as a dependent colony, England
will have in us a friendly nation — a subordinate, but still a
powerful people — to stand by her in North America in peace
or in war. (Cheers). The people of Australia will be such
another subordinate nation. And England will have this
advantage, if her colonies progress under the new colonial
system, as I believe they will, that, though at war with all the
rest of the world, she will be able to look to the subordinate
nations in alliance with her, and owing allegiance to the
same Sovereign, who will assist in enabling her again to meet
the whole world in arms, as she has done before. (Cheers).
And if, in the great Napoleonic war, with every port in Europe
closed against her commerce, she was yet able to hold her
own, how much more will that be the case when she has
a colonial empire rapidly increasing in power, in wealth, in

54

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

influence, and in position. (Hear, hear). It is true that we
stand in danger, as we have stood in danger again and again
in Canada, of being plunged into war, and suffering all its
dreadful consequences, as the result of causes over which we
have no control, by reason of their connection. This, however,
did not intimidate us. At the very mention of the prospect of
a war some time ago, how were the feelings of the people
aroused from one extremity of British America to the other,
and preparations were made for meeting its worst conse-
quences. Although the people of this country are fully aware
of the horrors of war — should a war arise, unfortunately,
between the United States and England, and we all pray it
never may — they are still ready to encounter all perils of that
kind, for the sake of the connection with England. There
is not one adverse voice, not one adverse opinion on that
point.

“ We all feel the advantages we derive from our connection
with England. So long as that alliance is maintained, we
enjoy, under her protection, the privileges of constitutional
liberty according to the British system. We will enjoy here
that which is the great test of constitutional freedom — we will
have the rights of the minority respected. (Hear, hear). In
all countries the rights of the majority take care of themselves,
but it is only in countries like England, enjoying constitu-
tional liberty, and safe from the tyranny of a single despot or
of an unbridled democracy, that the rights of minorities are
regarded. So long, too, as we form a portion of the British
Empire we shall have the example of her free institutions, of
the high standard of the character of her statesmen and public
men, of the purity of her legislation, and the upright adminis-
tration of her laws. In this younger country one great advan-
tage of our connection with Great Britain will be, that, under
her auspices, inspired by her example, a portion of her empire,
our public men will be actuated by principles similar to those
which actuate the statesmen at home. These, although not
material physical benefits, of which you can make an arith-
metical calculation, are of such overwhelming advantage to
our future interests and standing as a nation, that to obtain

His Confederation Speech.

55

them is well worthy of any sacrifice we may be called upon
to make, and the people of this country are ready to make
them. (Cheers).

“We should feel, also, sincerely grateful to a beneficent
Providence that we have had the opportunity vouchsafed us
of calmly considering this great constitutional change, this
peaceful revolution — that we have not been hurried into it,
like the United States, by the exigencies of war — that we have
not had a violent revolutionary period forced on us, as in
other nations, by hostile action from without, or by domestic
dissensions from within. Here we are in peace and prosperity,
under the fostering government of Great Britain — a dependent
people, with a government having only a limited and delegated
authority, and yet allowed, without restriction, and without
jealousy on the part of the mother country, to legislate for
ourselves, and peacefully and deliberately to consider and
determine the future of Canada and of British North America.

“ It is our happiness to know the expression of the will of
our gracious Sovereign, through her Ministers, that we have
her full sanction for our deliberations, that her only solicitude
is that we shall adopt a system which shall be really for our
advantage, and that she promises to sanction whatever conclu-
sion, after full deliberation we may arrive at, as to the best
mode of securing the well-being — the present and future
prosperity of British America. (Cheers). It is our privilege
and happiness to be in such a position, and we cannot be too
grateful for the blessings thus conferred upon us. (Hear,
hear). In conclusion, I would again implore the House not to
let this opportunity pass. It is an opportunity that may
never recur. If we do not take advantage of the time ; if we
show ourselves unequal to the occasion, it may never return,
and we shall hereafter bitterly and unavailingly regret having
failed to embrace the happy opportunity now offered of
founding a great nation under the fostering care of Great
Britain, and our Sovereign Lady, Queen Victoria.”

Many other able speeches were made by leading men on
both sides, until the whole subject was thoroughly exhausted.
The attack on the Government propositions was led by the

56

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

Honourable A. A. Dorion, who moved an amendment to the
Twelvth Resolution, “that the people of this province neither
wish nor seek a new nationality.” What he desired to convey
by this can only be conjectured, as he did not offer any
argument in support, but, taken in connection with the
manifesto issued by him, as soon as the proposed new consti-
tution was made public, it was thought at the time that his
desire was to alarm the jealousy of the French-Canadians, and
thus create opposition to the Union of Canada and the Lower
Provinces. The views of the House, however, were in harmony
with those of the Government, and the resolutions were carried
by a vote of 91 to 33.

On March 18th Parliament was prorogued, and in the
following month a deputation, composed of the Honourables
John A. Macdonald, George E. Cartier, George Brown and A.
T. Galt, proceeded to England to confer with the Home
Government on the matter of Confederation.

CHAPTER XXVI.

1865-67.

Opposition to Confederation in Nova Scotia — Archbishop Connolly’s Letter —
Death of Sir E. T. Tache — Re-organization of the Cabinet under Sir Nar-
cisse Belleau — Termination of the Reciprocity Treaty of 1854 — Extracts from
Debates in Congress — History of Reciprocity — Mr. Derby’s Report — The
Globe's Editorial thereon — The Fenian organization — Raids on Canada —
Archbishop Connolly’s Letter to the Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick
Honourable D’Arcy McGee’s denunciation of Fenianism — Meeting of Dele-
gates in London — Passage of the Confederation Act — Birth of the Dominion
of Canada, July 1, 1867.

I N the Maritime Provinces, and especially in Nova Scotia,
a determined opposition to the project of Confederation
was offered by a portion of the press, and a section of the
people led by the Honourable Joseph Howe, a man of great
ability, and who wielded an immense influence and used
every possible effort to prevent the scheme being carried
into effect. To meet the arguments thus advanced, many
others offered their views in the press and on the platform,
and, of these, there were none whose opinions carried greater
weight or received more attention than those of Archbishop
Connolly in reply to the Halifax Morning Chronicle. Both
on account of its intrinsic merit and also of the dignified
position of the Right Rev. writer, the letter received a wide
circulation, and did much in directing the public mind in
the proper direction. We give the following extracts : —

“ If one-half of what you say about Fenians and armed
and hostile organizations in a neighbouring country be true,
which I do not contradict, some or many of our Catholic
Churches, with or without our consent, may be turned into
drill-rooms — but if I know anything of the Catholic body
in this country, I vouch for it, they will never be used for
the purposes of pretended loyalists and sympathizers, or the
foreign foe, and much less for the Fenian Brotherhood on
their quixotic expedition, unless, indeed, it be to help them
in finding and filling up these much talked of and mysterious
coffins from which, according to you, Mr. Editor, their mus-
kets are to be supplied.

57

58

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

“ If half what you say be true (although I am no poli-
tician), on the strength of your own argument, I say the
sooner we are confederated the better. If the maxim be
universally admitted that Union is strength, no time is to
be lost, for in your hypothesis we will at once require all
the elements of strength at our command, and (may a kind
Providence forbid) perhaps more too.

“To leave Upper and Lower Canada and New Brunswick
to their fate, as you propose, and to fall back on the impregn-
able ramparts of Nova Scotia, with a militia of fifty thousand
men, and a nucleus of a British army of thirty or forty thous-
and, is precisely what an American or our worst enemy
would suggest if a war were to commence to-morrow. Wait
until Upper and Lower Canada and New Brunswick be
swallowed up one after another ; wait until we shall have
detached three millions of fellow subjects — good men and
true — from their allegiance to Britain, and added them to
the numberless hordes of the enemy already comprising the
population of almost a whole continent ; wait until we have
two or three hundred thousand men, succeeded by as many
more, if need be, on our frontier line, at Amherst, or per-
chance at the head of the Basin, or the Three Mile House,
and then what you say about the advantages of responsible
government and the blessings of isolation and the strength
of a militia of fifty thousand, will be our never failing resource
against every calamity.

“ Sir, either there is, or there is not, danger, or, in other
words, either the nation on our borders has or has not the
power to pull down our flag and destroy us as a people. If
they have the power, then good intentions and inclinations
are a matter of no importance whatever. We are, then, living
only on sufferance, on mere toleration. Our lives and liberties,
and the means of paying $4.10 taxes, and everything we hold
most dear, are staked on a haphazard, on which no man can
calculate, and no nation can or ought to depend for a single ,
week.

“If there be 50,000 men already prepared to invade this
country, as you admit, instead of labouring to keep us in our

Archbishop Connolly’s Letter.

59

present disjointed and defenceless position, you should rather
call on all to unite where a single man cannot be dispensed
with and gird on our armour for the rencontre. If respons-
ible government, which the great and good men of this
country won for us, be a precious heirloom on the Liliputian
scale, on which we now find it, instead of bartering it away
for nothing by Confederation, as you say, we shall rather, in
my opinion, add to its lustre and value, and ennoble and
enrich it, and make it boundlessly grander and more secure
for ourselves and those who are to come after us. We obtained
responsible government from the mother country, in whose
legislative halls we had not a single member to represent us.
We are now, on the contrary, asked to transfer the rich and
prized deposit to a place which will be a part only of our
common country, where our voice must be heard, and where
we will have a fuller and fairer representation than the city of
London, or Liverpool, or Bristol, can boast of in their English
House of Commons ; and this is the great difference between
obtaining from England what we had not and transferring
what we now have, in order to make it more valuable and
more available for our own purpose, and, by far, more secure.
Confederation, therefore, instead of depriving us of the privi-
leges of self-government, is the only practical and reliable
guarantee for its continuance. We are too small to be war-
ranted in the hope of being able to hold it always on the
strength of our own resources, and England, if not too weak,
is certainly too prudent and too cautious to risk her last
shilling and her last man to a country where, instead of a
population of 4,000,000, she will have scarcely one-tenth of
that number to help her against the united power of a whole
continent. To deny, therefore, the obvious advantages of
Confederation, you must first prove that union is not strength
— that England, under the Hierarchy, and France, under her
feudal chains and Barons, were greater and stronger and
happier than they now are as the two greatest nations of the
world. You must prove that Lucerne, and Geneva, and Berne
and the Grisons would be equally strong and secure out of
the confederation of their sister cantons in Switzerland; and

6o

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

that Florida, and Texas, and Delaware and Little Rhode
Island, in the neighbouring States, would be stronger if
detached from each other. You must prove that the petty
and miserable republics of Central America, with all their
responsible government, and entire exemption from foreign
control, are in any way benefited by their smallness and
isolation, and their reluctance to coalesce and form one strong
government as the only possible guarantee for the lives and
liberties and happiness of all.

“ On the principle that the part is greater than the whole,
you must prove that the smaller the state, the greater, and
stronger, and happier the people ; and that on your own
principle the repeal of the Union at the present moment
would be a signal benefit to Cape Briton, and Yarmouth, and
Shelburne, where they have far stronger local reasons for
being dissatisfied with the central government in Halifax than
Nova Scotia can ever have for being united, with Ottawa as
its capital, and the boundless British territory beyond our
borders. Prove all this if you can, and without referring to
the financial and commercial views at all, which are com-
pletely beyond and beside the question, you will convert me
and thousands like me in Nova Scotia to the policy of having
a large and effective militia, and paying heavy taxes for the
debt already contracted and the two contemplated railroads,
and we shall contentedly settle down according to your
scheme within no hope within our natural lifetime of having
an intercolonial railroad or more frequent intercourse with
our sister colonies and the vast country that extends for
thousands of miles along their borders.

“ I yield to no man in my heartfelt appreciation of the
blessings we all enjoy in this country, and I ask for nothing
more but to be able to calculate on their continuance — Sed hoc
opus hie labor est. This is the difficulty, and I will say with
all candour the only difficulty for me and all others who have
everthing to lose. No country situated as Nova Scotia now
is, with a vast area and sparse population, can reasonably hope
to maintain its independence for any considerable period.
Unless we are to be a single exception, and an anomaly in

Termination of the Reciprocity Treaty 6i

the history of nations, some change must come, and come
soon. In a word, Mr. Editor, as you say, ‘ Something must
be done.’

“ Instead of cursing like the boys in the upturned boat,
and holding on until we are fairly on the brink of the cataract,
we must at once begin to pray and strike out for the shore by
all means, before we get too far down on the current. We
must, at this most critical moment, invoke the Arbiter of
Nations for wisdom, and, abandoning in time our perilous
position, we must strike out boldly, and at some risk, for some
rock on the nearest shore — some resting place of greater
security. A cavalry raid visit from our Fenian friends on
horseback through the plains of Canada, and the fertile valleys
of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, may cost more in a single
week than Confederation for the next fifty years ; and if we
are to believe you, where is the security, even at the present
moment, against such a disaster. Without the whole power of
the mother country by land and sea, and the concentration in
a single hand of all the strength of British America, our con-
dition is seen at a glance. Whenever the present difficulties
will terminate — and who can tell the moment ? — we will be at
the mercy of our neighbours ; and, victorious or otherwise, they
will be eminently a military people, and with all their appar-
ent indifference about annexing this country, and all the
friendly feelings that may be talked, they will have the power
to strike when they please, and this is precisely the kernel and
the only touch-point of the whole question. No nation ever
had the power of conquest that did not use it, or abuse it, at
the very first favourable opportunity.

“ All that is said of the magnanimity and forbearance of
mighty nations can be explained on the principle of sheer
expediency, as the world knows. The whole face of Europe
has changed, and the dynasties of many hundred years have
been swept away within our time on the principle of might
alone — the oldest, the strongest, and, as some would have it,
the most sacred of titles. The thirteen original States of
America, with all their professions of self-denial, have been all
the time, by money-power and by war, and by negotiation,

62

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

extending their frontier, until they more than quadrupled
their territory within sixty years ; and, believe it who may,
are they now of their own accord to come to a full stop? No;
as long as they have power they must go onward, for it is the
very nature of power to grip whatever is within its reach. It
is not their hostile feelings, therefore, but it is their power, and
only their power I dread, and I now state it as my solemn
conviction, that it becomes the duty of every British subject
in these provinces to control that power, not by the insane
policy of attacking or weakening them, but by strengthening
ourselves — rising, with the whole of Britain at our back, to
their level ; and so be prepared for any emergency. There is no
sensible or unprejudiced man in the community who does not
see that vigorous and timely preparation is the only possible
means of saving us from the horrors of war such as the world
has never seen. To be fully prepared is the only practical
argument that can have weight with a powerful enemy, and
make him pause beforehand and count the cost And, as the
sort of preparation I speak of is utterly hopeless without the
union of the provinces, so at a moment when public opinion is
being formed on this vital point, as one deeply concerned, I
feel it a duty to declare myself unequivocally in favour of
Confederation as cheaply and as honourably obtained as pos-
sibe, but Confederation at all hazards and at all reasonable
sacrifices.

“ After the most mature consideration, and all the argu-
ments I have heard on both sides for the last month, these are
my inmost convictions on the necessity and merits of a
measure, which alone, under Providence, can secure to us
social order and peace, and rational liberty, and all the bless-
ings we now enjoy under the mildest government, and the
hallowed institutions of the freest and happiest country in the
world.”

Parliament met in Quebec, for the last time, on August
8th. The Premier, Sir E. P. Tache, having died on July
30th, a re-organization of the Cabinet became necessary.
The Honourable John A. Macdonald was called upon to
perform the duty by His Excellency, but objection being

Death of Sir E. P. Tache.

6

raised by Mr. George Brown, he waived his claims, as also
did Mr. Cartier, and Sir Narcisse Belleau, a member of the
Legislative Council, became Premier. So much has been
said in these pages of Sir Etienne Paschal Tache that it is
only necessary to add that he was born in St. Thomas, below
Quebec, in 1795, and consequently was seventy years of age.
He was not a man of showy qualities or brilliant talents,
but was the most loyal and self-sacrificing of colleagues and
thoroughly devoted to the interests of Britain in America.
He was Aide-de-Cainp to the Queen, held the honorary
rank of a Colonel in the army and was a Knight in the
Roman Order of St. Gregory. He had, previous to enter-
ing Parliament, filled the positions of Deputy Adjutant-
General of Militia, Government Director of the Grand Trunk
Railway, member of the Board of Railway Commissioners,
and member of the Board of Education for Lower Canada.

The despatches laid upon the table of the House
expressed the willingness of the Imperial Government to
assist in carrying out the scheme of Confederation, and the
report of the delegates being received, and the necessary
measures carried through, Parliament was prorogued.

It had for some time been very evident that the United
States Government had determined upon putting an end to
the Reciprocity Treaty negotiated in 1854.

The fifth article of that Treaty provided that: “The
Treaty shall remain in force for ten years from the date
at which it may come into operation, and further, until the
expiration of twelve months after either of the high con-
tracting parties shall give notice to the other of its wish
to terminate the same ; each of the high contracting parties
being at liberty to give such notice to the other at the
end of the said term of ten years or at any time afterwards.”

The Treaty came into operation on March 16, 1855, and
consequently the earliest date which it could be made to
expire was March 16, 1866.

In May, 1864, the House of Representatives took up the
matter with great earnestness and the debates indicated that
strong views were entertained, both as to its abrogation and

64

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

retention. Those who desired to see the treaty at an end
seemed imbued with the idea that Canada had done some-
thing for which her people should be punished, that without
the treaty they could not exist, but must perish miserably,
or join their lot to that of the United States. They were
not in a humour to settle the question upon purely com-
mercial grounds ; considerations, such as these, were, for the
time, subordinate to the political interests. On the other
hand the Boston Board of Trade and other commercial bodies
together with such leading papers as the New York Herald ,
concurred in the view that the balance of advantage was,
altogether on the side of the Americans and, therefore, that
the treaty should be retained. Some idea of the arguments
advanced in the House of Representatives will be gathered
from the following extracts from the debates : —

“ The House proceeded, as the regular order of business,
to the consideration of a joint resolution (H.R. No. 56)
authorizing the President to give the requisite notice for
terminating the treaty made by Great Britain on behalf of
the British Provinces in North America, and to appoint Com-
missioners to negotiate a new treaty with the British Govern-
ment, based upon the true principle of Reciprocity.

Mr. Baxter — “The question before this House, as now pre-
sented, is whether a notice to terminate this treaty, called
the Reciprocity Treaty, shall be given pure and simple, or
whether it shall be diluted to a milk-and-water consistency.
This Reciprocity Treaty, so called, is a misnomer entirely.
After the people of Great Britain became dissatisfied with
taxing themselves for the benefit of the Colonies, and after
the corn laws were repealed, it became necessary that that
Government should be supplied with breadstufifs from some
other quarter. Immediately the question was agitated in
Canada, and men were sent here to make proffers to our
Government, pretending that they had something to give for
what they asked in return. General Taylor’s Cabinet, with
Mr. Preston, of Virginia, in it, gave it no heed whatever,
beyond a proper examination, declaring that they had no
constitutional right to make such a treaty or compact ; and,

Debates on Reciprocity Treaty.

65

in the next place, to do it would be impolitic and destructive
of American interests and American policy.

“Now, sir, I do not expect to shut the Canadians out.
I expect that they will enjoy our markets. God knows I
do not want to destroy that people entirely, because some
of them have been and still are most glorious friends of ours.
I wish I could say that there were a majority of such there,
but they are such men as I honour. I know they have
nowhere else to go but to our markets. The ‘ mother
country/ as they call it, has failed to protect them. The
markets there do not suit them and are of no account to
them, but they come to us for our markets. I say let them
come, but let them not come to rob the brave men of our own
country, who have given their best blood for the protection
of our liberties. Let them not come to the exclusion of those
who have birthrights and who bear the heat and burden of
the day. We will treat them as well as we do the most
favoured nation, as neighbours, but we will not feed or clothe
them. If they are to enjoy our markets, let it be on the
same terms with other nations of the world. Why not? Is
there any man opposed to giving this notice who can show
what has ever been discovered during the working of this
treaty which would induce us to believe that there is any-
thing on the part of the Canadians that they can give us
for what we can give them ? What reciprocal advantages
can they return to us ? What benefits do they give us for
those we confer on them ? They tell us that we may go
to their markets. Why, sir, they have no markets. We may
go there, but what is the use of going there if there are no
markets ? I know there are no markets there ; I was born
near there, and I know what I say. Fifty bullocks from
Illinois would frighten every butcher out of Montreal !

“ I am much obliged to the House for indulging me, and
I will detain them but one moment longer. If you are going
to pass this resolution I want to amend it a little. If this
commission is to be provided for, I want its name changed
to ‘ A commission to arrange terms for continuing, in a

VOL II. 5

66

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

dignified position, the wet-nurse of the sick British Colonies/
(Laughter). I have done.”

Mr. Sweat — “ My idea is that we can revise this treaty
without abrogating it, and the' t we can treat better with these
Provinces while the present treaty is living than we can with
a dead treaty.

“ It has been said that there exists an unfriendly feeling
between the Provinces and the United States. Sir, the
people of the Lower Provinces of Canada are friends of the
loyal citizens of the United States. However much the
Canadian papers may have given an appearance of a public
sentiment against us, it is a mistake to suppose that their
interests are adverse to ours or that the people there are
unfriendly to us.

“ The question is not whether the treaty is what we would
have it — in my opinion it is not — but whether commissioners
shall be appointed to revise and improve it. Sir, if there is to
be a revision of the treaty it will need amendments in behalf
of the interests of Maine quite as much as of the interests of
any other state.

“ Now, sir, shall we be governed by such a course as this, or
shall we be governed by passion, excitement, purposes of
retaliation, or promptings of revenge ? Because some Cana-
dians have exhibited ill-feeling against this country shall we
undertake to stultify ourselves by breaking up our commercial
relations with them, and destroying the interests of our own
citizens to a large extent ? I believe that some gentlemen
upon this floor are actuated more by their prejudice against
this people than by any other consideration in the line of
policy they are advocating in this matter. Now, I submit to
gentlement upon this side of the House and upon the other
side, that even if all that is alleged in reference to this Cana-
dian people be true, whether we are justified in allowing
ourselves to be governed by such considerations in determin-
ing a national, commercial question ?

“ Shall we, if we can, negotiate a new treaty upon the
principles of reciprocity ? If we make the effort to revise this,
and to make it mutually beneficial and satisfactory, and fail, I

Debate on Reciprocity Treaty.

67

need not inform the House that vve may then give notice of
the abrogation of the existing treaty. It is said there is a
necessity now of giving this notice, as though we could not
even wait until September nth, which will be the termination
of the ten years, as though we could not even make an effort
to come to a fair and honourable understanding.

“ With all the defects of the present treaty, the balance of
trade for the last ten years has been in favour of the United
States.”

On January 11, 1865, the resolution to repeal the
Reciprocity Treaty was taken up in the United States Senate,
and carried by 31 yeas to 8 nays. We give the concluding
speeches of Mr. Hale and Mr. Sumner.

Mr. Hale, of New Hampshire, said “he was sorry the Sen-
ate contemplated the repeal of the treaty. He regarded it as
a step in the wrong direction. The treaty had been productive
of good to both parties, and to repeal it could effect no good.
If the object in repealing it was to benefit our commercial and
financial interests, he would not object to it ; but it had come
from the committee on foreign relations, and no report had
Teen made as to why action should be taken. It had been
said that the treaty operated all one way. The reasons
assigned by those who urged its abrogation were vague and
unsatisfactory. He (Mr. Hale) had an interest in the com-
mercial prosperity of the country, and he had taken the
trouble to look at the operation of the treaty in the gross.
Some special pleader might make out a case against it on a
particular point, but its general operation had been unquestion-
ably beneficial. Mr. Hale read a statement from a letter of
the Secretary of the Treasury to show that, under the oper-
ations of the Treaty, the exports to Canada had been increased
in a few years from $6,000,000 to $25,000,000. Both free
goods and duty paying goods had increased. He had been
told that Canada had altered her tariff so as to make it burden-
some to American commerce. The rates had not been more
than two per cent., and in the last year they had decreased.
In 1861 they were n neteen per cent., only a half per cent,
larger than in 1850. The statement that there had been unfair

68

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

advantage taken in the way of duties was therefore a mistake.
In 1853 the exports to Canada were $7,000,000. In 1854
$15,000,000; in 1856 $22,000,000; and in 1863 $28,000,000.
The imports had increased from $490,000 to $20,000,000.
Mr. Hale was sorry the Senate was about to act so
soon upon this matter. The Chamber of Commerce of
New York had taken the matter under consideration,
and would soon report. He understood the Chamber of
Commerce of Chicago, was averse to the repeal of the
treaty. He thought we ought not to strike a blow at com-
merce, when we needed the sinews of war so much. In con-
clusion Mr. Hale said the abrogation of the treaty would be
regarded in Canada and England as retaliation for wrongs
which the people of the United States rightly imagined they
had sustained, and he was sure the people of Canada were
willing now to do anything they could to repair the wrongs
that had been committed lately, and to prevent their repeti-
tion. He believed it would strengthen the rebels and weaken
the Union cause to repeal the treaty. Suppose it true that
the repeal of the treaty would impoverish Canada, he did not
believe it would be wise to do so. We ought to wish our
neighbours rich and prosperous and enterprising ; able to buy
from us and help our commerce. In reducing them to poverty
we would injure ourselves, but he had no hope of preventing
the passage of the resolution. This was a time when men
took counsels of their passions rather than of the welfare of
the country. The treaty had been wise and salutary, and
under it commerce had grown up and improved. Until some
gentleman could point out some great injury that had been
done, he hoped the Senate would pause. He hoped that the
merchants of New York would have an opportunity to be
heard on the subject.”

Mr. Summer said : “ The recxprocity treaty has a beautiful
name. It suggests at once equality, exchange and security,
and it is because it was supposed to advance these ideas prac-
tically, that this treaty was originally accepted by the people
of the United States. If, however, it shall appear that while
organizing exchange, it forgets equality and equity in an

Debate on Reciprocity Treaty.

69

essential respect, then must a modification be made in con-
formity with just principles. I mean to be brief, but I hope,
though brief, to make the proper conclusion apparent. It is a
question for reason, not for passion or sentiment, and in this
spirit I enter upon the discussion. The treaty may be seen
under four different heads. It concerns the fisheries, the navi-
gation of the St. Lawrence, the commerce of the United States
and the British Provinces, and the revenue of the United
States. These fisheries have been a source of anxiety
throughout our history. Even from the beginning, and for
several years previous to the reciprocity treaty, they had been
the occasion of mutual irritation, verging at times on positive
outbreak. This is a plain advantage which cannot be denied,
but so far as I have been able to examine official returns, I do
not find any further evidence showing the value of the treaty
in this connection, while opinions, even among those most
interested in the fisheries, are divided. There are partisans
for it in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and partisans against it in
Maine. If the treaty related exclusively to fisheries, I should
not be willing to touch it, but the practical question is whether
the seeming advantage in this respect is sufficient to counter-
balance the disadvantages in other respects. Next comes the
navigation of the St. Lawrence, but this plausible concession
has proved to be but little more than a name. It appears that
during the first six years of the treaty only forty American
vessels, containing 12,550 tons, passed seaward through the
St. Lawrence, and during the same time only nineteen vessels,
containing 5,446 tons, returned by the same open highway.
These are very petty amounts when we consider the value of
the commerce on the lakes, which, in 1856, was $58,797,320, or
when we consider the carrying trade between the United
States and the British Provinces. Take the years 1857 to
1862 inclusive, and we shall find that during this period the
shipping of the United States, which cleared for the British
Provinces, was 10,707,239 tons, and the foreign shipping,
which cleared during this same period, was 7,39 1 >399 tons,
while the shipping of the United States, which entered at our
custom houses from the British Provinces, was 10,056,183

70

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

tons, and the foreign shipping which entered was 6,455,520
tons. I mention these things by way of contrast. In com-
parison with these grand movements, the business which we
have been able to do on the St. Lawrence seems to be trivial.
It need not be considered as an element in the present discus-
sion. The treaty may be seen next in its bearings on
the commerce between the two countries. This has
increased immensely, but it is difficult to see how much of
this increase is due to the treaty and how much is due
to the natural growth of population and the facilities
for transportation in both countries. If it could be traced
exclusively or in any large measure to the treaty, it would
be an element not to be disregarded, but it does not follow,
from the occurrence of this increase, after the acceptance of
the treaty, that it was on account of the treaty. The census
of the United States and of the British Provinces, will show
an increase of population, which must not be disregarded in
determining the origin of the increase of commerce. There
are also railroads furnishing prompt and constant means of
intercommunication which have gone into successful operation
only since the treaty. It would be difficult to exaggerate the
influence these have exercised in quickening and extending
commerce. I cannot doubt that the railroad system of the
two countries has been of itself a reciprocity and equal to any
written on parchment. The exte'nt of trade before and after
the treaty may be shown in a few figures. In the three years
immediately preceding the treaty the total exports to Canada
and the other British provinces were $48,216,518, and the total
imports were $22,588,577, being of exports to imports in the
proportion of 100 to 46. In the ten years of the treaty the
total exports to Canada and the British provinces were
$256,350,931. The total imports were $200,399,786. Accord-
ing to these amounts the exports were in the proportion of
100 to 78. If we take Canada alone we shall find the change
in their proportion greater still. The total exports to Canada
in the three years immediately preceding the treaty were
$31,866,865, and the total imports were $6,587,674, being in
proportion of 100 to 52, while the whole exports to Canada

Debate on Reciprocity Treaty.

7

alone during the ten years of the treaty were $176,371,91 1,
and the total imports were $161,474,347, being in the propor-
tion of 100 to 94. I present these tables simply to lay before
you the extent and nature of the change in the commerce
between the two countries, but I forbear embarking on the
much debated enquiry as to the effect of a difference between
the amount of exports and imports, involving, as it does, the
whole perilous question of the balance of trade. In the view
which I take on the present occasion, it is not necessary to
consider it. The reciprocity treaty cannot be maintained or
overturned on any contested principle of political economy.
I come, in the last place, to the influence of the treaty on the
revenues of the country, and here the custom house is our
principal witness. The means of determining this question
will be found in the authentic tables which have been pub-
lished from time to time on the reports of the treasury, and
especially in the report made to Congress at this session,
which I have in my hand. Looking at these tables we find
certain unanswerable points. I begin with an estimate founded
on the trade before the treaty. From this it appears that if
no treaty had been made and the trade had increased in the
same ratio as before the treaty, Canada would have paid to
the United States in ten years of the treaty at least
$16,373,800, from which she has been relieved. This sum has
actually been lost to the United States. In return Canada
has given up $2,650,890, being the amount it would have
collected if no treaty had been made. This is a vast pro-
portion to the detriment of the United States.” Mr. Sumner
then quoted from the report of the Secretary of the Treasury,
showing that the treaty had released from duty a total sum of
$42,333,357 in value, of goods of Canada, more than of goods
the product of the United States.

All the speeches convey the idea that a feeling of irrita-
tion against Canada was the real cause of the abrogation of
the treaty, and the monetary article of the New York Herald
is very plain-spoken in its views on the subject :

“The vote of the Senate, by 31 against 8, in favour of
the abrogation of the reciprocity treaty with Canada, indi-

72

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

cated the general feeling on the subject of our relations with
Great Britain and her possessions, more than a sound politico-
economic view of the question. The arguments both for and
in opposition to a repeal of the treaty were inadequate and
without grasp ; and very few of those who cast their votes on
one side or the other showed that they had taken any pains
to inform themselves of the facts relating to the treaty and
their bearings, so as to be enabled to draw fair conclusions,
while those who appeared to have done so failed by their
observations to view them in a comprehensive light pro and
con, although Mr. Hale, of New Hampshire, discussed the
snbject with tolerable impartiality. He argued that as the
exports to Canada from the United States had increased in
value from $7,000,000 in 1853, to $28,000,000 in 1863, and the
imports from $490,000 to $20,000,000, therefore the treaty had
been beneficial in developing our trade wiih the neighbouring
provinces. Mr. Sumner- on the other hand, took the opposite
side, and argued like a protectionist of the last century.

“ The very unstatesmanlike deductions of Mr. Sumner, from
these figures are, that if no treaty had existed, and the trade
had increased in the same ratio as before the treaty, Canada
would have paid to the United States during the ten years of
the treaty at least $16,373,800, which she has been in this way
relieved of. ‘ This sum,’ says Mr. Sumner, ‘ has actually
been lost to the United States and this remark alone shows
him to be but a sorry political economist. In the first place,
he assumes almost an impossibility when he supposes that the
trade between the two countries would have increased in the
same ratio if the treaty had not been in operation. It was the
treaty that mainly caused the increase. In the next instance,
Mr. Sumner makes a grave mistake when he says the United
States ‘ lost ’ the amount stated. He overlooks the important
fact, that all taxes upon commodities fall ultimately upon the
consumers, and that by importing goods during the last ten
years from Canada under the treaty, we were saving in their
reduced cost what would otherwise have been expended in
duties. Mr. Sumner, on the same principle, would consider
the customs duties a gain to the United States, whereas

HON. LIEUT. -COL. MACKENZIE BOWELL, J.P., P.C.

Minister oj Customs.

History of Reciprocity.

75

those duties are paid by the people of this country to the
Government, and the import tax relieves every citizen who
consumes imported goods as directly as any other tax does.”

The leading commercial papers of the great cities of the
American Union — papers that were accepted as organs of the
commercial interests of that country — were unanimous in
protesting against the abrogation of the treaty. The policy
of reciprocal trade had not been adopted without long consider-
ation by the leading merchants and public men of the United
States. As early as 1816, President Madison brought the
subject before Congress in a special message. President
Monroe had tried to negotiate a treaty for that purpose, and
repeated efforts in the same direction were made during the
Administration of John Quincy Adams and General Jackson.
These attempts to secure reciprocal trade were continued, on
one side or the other, for some years without much effect.
In 1847 the Canadian Parliament authorized the admission
into Canada, free of duty, of the natural productions of the
United States, whenever the latter country should reciprocate
by similar legislation. In the same year the British Minister
at Washington proposed an arrangement for reciprocal trade,
but the matter lay. in abeyance several years* In 1852 the
New York Chamber of Commerce took up the subject and
pressed it earnestly. Reciprocity was supported by most of
the leading statesmen of the American Union, including,
amongst others, Webster, Everett, Douglas, Seward, Marcy,
Dix, Clayton and Cushing. The treaty was finally negotiated
in 1854, and the necessary legislation to carry it into effect
adopted. Next year the treaty went into operation, and was
so satisfactory, that in 1856 the New York Chamber of
Commerce petitioned Congress to remove all restrictions
upon the commerce between Canada and the United States,
by procuring reciprocity in manufactures, as well as in
natural productions, and by securing an arrangement which
should open to the vessels of both countries the coasting
trade of the intervening waters, with all the advantages which
then existed between adjoining states.

The advantages of the treaty had been altogether on the

76

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

American side. They had diverted our foreign trade mom the
St. Lawrence to their own ports. Their sales to us had been
much larger than our sales to them ; they had enjoyed the
benefits of the fisheries on the British American coast, whilst
we had scarcely sent a smack in exchange into their waters ;
and they had enjoyed the use of our Welland and St. Law-
rence canals, which afforded an outlet for the commerce of the
North-Western States. A speeial report on the subject was
made by Mr. Derby, the Commissioner of the Treasury
Department at Washington, to the Secretary of the Depart-
ment, from which the following extracts are taken :

As to the general result of the treaty, he states that the
commerce of the United States with the British American
Provinces “rose from $2,100,000 in 1828 to $3,800,000 in 1832;
$8,100,000 in 1840; $9,300,000 in 1846; $18,700,000 in 1851;
$50,300,000 in 1856 ; and to $68,000,000 in 1865.

“ American fishermen are by this treaty allowed to
frequent and approach, without regard to distance, all the
shores of four provinces, and to land and cure their fish
there without the consent of the private owners.

• • a • • • •

“The return of fish and oil from this tonnage for 1862,
considerably exceeded $14,000,000 — drawn from the rich
pastures of the deep. We have not exact returns of the fish
or oil landed on our shores, but we have proof that in 1862,
and down to the present hour, the trade has paid fair profits
beyond outfits, repairs, insurance and other disbursements,
and that these average more than $80 per ton for the vessels
and boats in service, or more than $13,000,000.

“ The number of American vessels in the fisheries has
ranged from 2,414 in 1850 to 3,815 in 1862, besides boats in
the shore fisheries. Six hundred sail of these vessels have
in a single season fished for mackerel in the Gulf of St.
Lawrence and Bay of Chaleurs, and taken fish to the amount
of $4,500,000.

Mr. Derby's Report.

77

“ American fisheries are not only the chief nurseries for
the mariners and petty officers of our navy, but they are the
schools from which spring the most able and enterprising
mates, captains, and merchants who conduct the foreign
commerce of the nation.

“ The St. Lawrence is a valuable outlet for our cereals, but
its importance must depend in a great measure upon the
enlargement of the canals and increase of their depth to
twelve or fifteen feet to suit a class of vessels adapted to the
navigation of the ocean.

“ The goods we export (to the Maritime Provinces) are
more available than those we receive, and for several years
before the treaty our exports averaged in value more than
twice the value of our imports. This disparity has been
reduced, but still the balance of trade is in our favour, and is
realized in part from drafts on England.

“ The shipment of coal from the provinces to the United
States has increased from 220,000 tons in 1863, to at least
400,000 tons in 1865. * * We are not, however, to

forget that we already export from 105,000 to 171,000 tons of
coal to Canada.

“ Provincial coal can be laid down in the seaports of New
England for five dollars per ton in specie. It would seem as
if nature had designed this region for the supply of our north-
eastern coast. The coal from Nova Scotia is bituminous, and
thus differs from the coal of Pennsylvania, and is adapted for
other uses, in gas works, forges and furnaces. At least half
of it is used for gas. Fifty thousand tons are annually used
by one gas company in Boston. It is used, also, to a consid-
erable extent by the steamers which run to foreign ports.

“ Canada supplies us with 3,500,000 pounds of combing
wool the present year, of a quality we do not produce, but
which we require for our new fabrics for mousse-line-delaiues.

73

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

alpacas and bunting. . . . The free wool of

Canada has been an inestimable favour to our worsted manu-
facturers. It does not compete with the productions of our
farmers, as we raise little more than 200,000 pounds long
wool, while Canada consumes 300,000 pounds of our clothing
wool annually. It is not possible that our production of long
wool can keep up with the demand.”

The treaty has “ quieted strife and restored the rights
secured by the treaty of ’83 to our fisheries, from which spring
the seamen to our navy, the mates, masters, and intrepid mer-
chants who have guided our keels to the confines of the earth.”
And to sum up the American view of the matter, Mr. Derby
declares: “A treaty under which our commerce with the prov-
inces has increased threefold, or from $17,000,000 in 1852, to
$68,000,000 in 1864, is not to be abandoned, or the amity
which now exists between the contiguous nations of the same
origin to be endangered, without careful investigation and
conclusive reasons.” And again : “ If, under the treaty, our
commerce with the provinces has, in twelve years, increased
threefold, and in that commerce the tonnage arriving and
departing from our ports exceeds 6,600,000 tons ; if in this
tonnage we have the preponderance ; if our country has made
rapid progress both in population and wealth — is there any
reason to dread the operation of a new treaty more favourable
to our own productions than the treaty expiring?”

But Mr. Derby goes further. He shows that the commerce
which has grown up under the treaty is so valuable to the
United States, that should it be brought to an end on March
17th, it would be suicidal to impose high duties upon the
products of the provinces. He says :

“There are few of the great staples of the provinces it
would be wise to tax heavily, should the chance be afforded.
It would be unwise to tax the minor articles, and most unwise
to tax those which would be diverted by a duty. The field of
inquiry is limited to the great staples of the provinces — wheat,
oats, barley, coal, lumber and fish, and possibly horses.”

Commenting upon this report the Toronto Globe of Febru-
ary 3, 1866, says :

The Globe” on Mr. Derby’s Report.

79

“ In view of all the perplexities of the case for Poor Uncle
Sam, Mr. Derby exclaims : 4 What is to be done ? *

“ ‘ Are we to go back, with contiguous and growing Pro-
vinces, more populous than the United States in 1783, to a
system of retaliation and restricted commerce ? ’

444 Would it be wise to incur the ill-will of a province whose
frontier for three thousand miles borders on our own ? *

“ 4 Would it be politic to stimulate illicit trade at a time
when we require high duties to meet our engagements ? *

" 4 Should we divert business from our canals and railways
to a new and circuitous route across New Brunswick ? ’

“ 4 It is doubtless desirable for Canada to reach our home
market and to gain a direct route, summer and winter,' to the
sea ; but she has open to her half the year the route of the
St. Lawrence, connected by a series of canals and railways,
with the lakes : And is it our policy to turn all her trade
that way, or through the wilds of New Brunswick ? ’

44 And in desperation at the threatened loss of the fisheries,
Mr. Derby exclaims : 4 Are we to come to blows with her
for rights won by the sword in the war of the Revolution,
which improvident Commissioners have impaired or put in
jeopardy, or shall we make a Treaty? We must either risk
our mackerel fishery, treat, or annex the provinces.’

“Yes — this is the alternative — TREAT with the Provincials,
or 4 annex the prc vinces.’ Which course would be the best
for Uncle Sam, Mi. Derby has no doubt. He goes strongly
for annexation, or absorption. 4 If,’ says he, 4 the Maritime
Provinces would but, join us spontaneously to-day — sterile
as may be their soil, under a - sky of steel — still with their
hardy population, their harbours, fisheries, and seamen, they
would greatly improve and strengthen our position and aid
us in our struggle for equality upon the ocean. If we would
succeed upon the deep, we must either maintain our fisheries,
or absorb the Provinces.’

44 No — Mr. Derby hai no doubt as to absorption being
decidedly 4 beneficial’ to Uncle Sam. He tells his country-
men with great gusto that it 4 would bring to the Union a
white population which will, in 1868, possibly before the

8o

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

measure could be consummated, reach four millions. It
would bring to us two thousand miles of railways, and vast
forests and mines, and fisheries and mariners, and nearly two-
thirds of a million tons of shipping.’

“To attain that, Mr. Derby is ready for anything. But
how to attain it is the question ? Coercion ? — prohibitory
duties ? — non-intercourse ? There are ‘ gentlemen of intelli-
gence ’ it seems, and possibly some American ‘ statesmen ’
who think that these would bring it about ; but Mr. Derby
has no such faith. ‘ Is there no danger,’ he asks, ‘ that such
a policy would produce “ alienation ” instead of Union ? ’ 4 Is

the present moment,’ he wants to know, ‘ when we are
mastering a debt of twenty-eight hundred millions by severe
taxation, an auspicious one for bringing in new States to
share our burden ? ’ Mr. Derby thinks not. He is of
opinion that Uncle Sam is decidedly not in a condition to
offer any temptation to the Provincials at this moment — but
he lives in hope that ‘ we can offer more inducements and
attractions at a future day.’

“Mr. Derby being unable to attain absorption at this
moment, goes in for conciliation and negotiation, and a
treaty. He does not believe in ‘ Legislative Reciprocity.’
Mr. Derby, like a sensible man, goes for a treaty. ‘ Let us
treat the Provinces,’ says Mr. Derby, ‘ as friends and patrons,
as valuable customers, and, if they join us. let them come
as friends. We desire no unwilling associates.’

“The sort of treaty Mr Derby recommends, and his declar-
ations as to the endorsal by Canadians of his views, we will
consider hereafter. But meantime, we heartily recommend
Mr. Derby’s views to the best attention of some of our weak-
kneed contemporaries, who have been seeing nothing but
‘ Ruin and Decay ’ in the abrogation of the treaty. And
especially would we commend them to that class of individ-
uals who would have the people of Canada to go down on
their knees to Brother Jonathan.”

The Canadian Government were anxious to keep the
treaty in operation, or to negotiate a new one, and were
willing to make every reasonable concession, believing that

New York World” on Annexation.

8 1

great injury would be done to the country if there were no
treaty for reciprocal trade with the United States. It was
said at the time that Mr. George Brown did not concur in
the views of his colleagues, not being willing to yield as much
as they were, and he, therefore, considered it his duty to
resign his seat in the Cabinet. Mr. Brown was a man who
had such faith in his own views that he was unable to calmly
consider the strength and sincerity of the convictions of
others, and in taking that step he acted hastily and unad-
visedly. Having entered the Cabinet to carry out the great
scheme of Confederation, he should have remained at his post
until the project was completed.

In spite of every effort to the contrary, the treaty came to
an end on March 16, 1866. The results, however, were not
so disadvantageous to Canada as were expected in this
country or looked for by our neighbours. What these results
actually were will be a proper subject of consideration when
we come to speak of efforts made in future years to obtain a
new treaty with the United States which would contain
elements of advantage to both countries. Suffice it now to
say, that if the New York World can be accepted as the
exponent of public opinion, the advocates of the abrogation of
the Reciprocity Treaty of 1854 believed that absorption of
Canada into the United States would follow as a matter of
course. Here are its words, January 30, 1866 :

“ As annexation seems to be the real beginning and the
end of argument on this subject with some of those who
oppose all reciprocity, it is well to caution the Administration
against the pleasant reports of its employees. It is no new
characteristic of the worst part of human nature that men are
inclined to flatter those who are in power, and can give, with-
hold or perpetuate the emoluments and honours of office.
But if intended to promote annexation of the provinces to the
United States, the method which has been selected has been
most unfortunate, and has thus far produced results exactly
the reverse of those desired by its originators. Not one influ-
ential representative of public opinion among the Canadian
journals — nor, we believe, one newspaper of an inferior class —

6

VOL II.

82

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

now advocates annexation to the United States. The com-
mon sentiment is more opposed to it than for many previous
years. Even those who, six months ago, contributed money to
promote union, now unite in defying the system of commercial
coercion, and ask us to consider what we should feel if a similar
pressure was applied to us to induce us to change our allegi-
ance to our own country. To this, of course, there can only be
one answer. It enables us to see ourselves as we are seen by
others. The Canadian journals speak of Potterization as an
effort to make them part with their honour and their birth-
right for unworthy considerations, and they diminish the force
of whatever inducements we can offer by calling the attention
of their readers to our system of enormous taxation.”

Another danger threatened Canada at this time. The
Fenian Organization had acquired an extraordinary strength
in the United States. One branch, under Stephens and
O’Mahony, proposed to drive the English out of Ireland;
another branch under Roberts and Sweeny, proposed to
conquer Canada and make it the basis of attack. Arrange-
ments were made for simultaneous invasions at three points.
Demonstrations were made near St. Albans, Ogdensburg and
Buffalo, of which the latter was the most serious. Towards
the end of May it became known that large bodies of men
were collecting on the Niagara frontier. Before daybreak on
June 1st they had landed near Fort Erie and taken possession
of all the horses and provisions they could lay their hands on.
No violence, however, was offered to the inhabitants. The
next day, General O’Neil, who was in command, moved his
force to an elevated woodland termed Limeridge, and there
erected temporary fortifications. Meanwhile the Canadian
Government, who did not realize until the invasion had
actually taken place, that so serious a step could be seriously
contemplated, called out the militia force of the country to
repel the invaders. The Queen’s Own regiment composed
of ten companies, under Major Gillmor; the 13th of Hamilton,
composed of six companies, under Major Skinner; the York
Rifles under Captain Davis; and the Caledonia Rifles, under
Captain Jackson, were ordered off to the Niagara frontier

The Fenian Raids.

33

Colonel Booker, who was in command of the brigade, did not
follow out the instructions received from his superior officer,
Colonel Peacocke, and prematurely attacked the Fenians. All
went well until, upon a false alarm of an attack by cavalry, the
men were ordered to form squares. This, at once, exposed
them to a severe fire from the enemy, confusion ensued,
followed by a retreat from the field with the loss of about
forty killed and wounded. The Fenians did not follow up
their advantage, and, being hard pressed by other forces,
escaped as best they could to the American side of the river.
Many were killed and wounded, and a large number taken
prisoners. As there were many thousands ready to follow
the first comers, the matter might have been very much more
serious had the leaders not so soon lost heart. Threatening
demonstrations continued to be made for some time, but
finally the band were dispersed by the United States Govern-
ment providing transport to their homes. A most interesting
account of the raid, with a detailed description of the move-
ments of the troops, and the engagements that took place,
was written by Colonel (then Major) George T. Denison of
the Governor-General’s Body Guard.

During the ensuing week thousands of Fenians congre-
gated on the banks of the St. Lawrence, near Prescott and
Cornwall, and on the borders of the Eastern Townships, but
the remonstrances of the Canadian Government against the
apathy of the American authorities in allowing so wanton an
invasion of the soil of a friendly country, began to have effect
and General Meade was ordered to seize the arms and
ammunition which had been collected, and to send the raiders
to their homes. Although the blood of Canada’s brave sons
had been shed, some property destroyed, and heavy expense
incurred by having, at one time, 40,000 of the militia under
arms, the sacrifice was not in vain. It demonstrated to the
world the ability and determination to defend our land at all
costs and hazards, and gave a further impetus to the military
spirit already awakened by the Trent affair.

In Canada a feeling of uneasiness prevailed. It was said
that the organization had taken deep root in our midst, and

8 4

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

all sorts of rumours were afloat as to the aid and countenance
likely to be accorded to their confederates from the other side
of the border. Many prominent Irish Roman Catholics raised
their voices to warn those of their countrymen who were
suspected of leaning towards the cause of Fenianism, to
strengthen those who, while loyal to the country of their birth,
did not desire to see the land of their adoption the scene of
bloody strife, and to dispel from the minds of the people at
large the doubts which had arisen as to the loyalty of the Irish
Catholics, as a whole. Amongst those were Dr. Connolly, the
venerable Archbishop of Halifax, and the Honourable Thomas
D’Arcy McGee. The former wrote to the Lieutenant-Governor
of New Brunswick a lengthy letter from which we quote the
following :

“ From all the sources of information at my command, I
am convinced, if the crisis come, that the whole Roman
Catholic population in this country will yield to no other class
in unwavering loyalty and the unflinching performance of duty
in the day of trial. Apart from the allegiance which, as
Churchmen, we owe to the constituted authorities, we have
here everything to lose and nothing whatever to gain by a
change, be it ever so luring in the distance. What can any
Government give that we have not got ? We have prosperity,,
law, order, peace, unmeasured liberty, the country secured
against the foreign foe, trade and commerce protected all over
the world at an expense one-sixth less per head than in the
neighbouring republic, and a mere fraction as compared with
the expenditure of any other country we know of. To
exchange this condition with any other would be suicidal
madness, and the thinking, reading portion of our people, the
portion that have anything to lose, are aware of the fact.
They, like myself, have visited the United States from time to
time, and have had ample data to guide them to the same
conclusion. Catholics, no doubt, enjoy many advantages in
that country (and it is a blessing for millions they have such a
country as a refuge), but after the experience of twenty-four
years in British America, it is my deep conviction that Catho-
lics, taking into account their numbers and opportunities, are

Archbishop Connolly Condemns Fenianism. 85

wealthier and happier — better Christians — and socially and
politically more elevated here than there.

“ In Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland
and Prince Edward Island, there has been no period since the
days of emancipation, at which Catholics have not possessed
that influence in the community to which their numbers and
position fairly entitled them. The Legislature, the Executive
Council, and the Bench are as accessible to the Catholic as the
Protestant, whilst men of vast wealth and the highest business
and social standing in every city, from Montreal to St. John’s,
Newfoundland, are to be found among our ranks. In all these
particulars, according to our numbers, we stand as a hundred
to one when compared with our fellow religionists in the
neighbouring republic.

“ Our people, therefore, have nothing to expect from change
of any kind but increased taxation, diminished incomes, a
decided fall in the social scale, the scathing contempt of
their new rulers, as was ever the case in New England, and
with these, perhaps, the horrors of a devastating war. The
great . Government of the United States has nothing more
tempting to offer ; and what have we to expect from the
so-called Fenians, that pitiable knot of knaves and fools,
who, unable to degrade themselves, are doing all in their
power to add another Ballingarry to the history of Ireland,
and to make the condition of our poor country more deplor-
able than before.

“ On the occasion of my recent visit to the United States
many of these poor deluded people talked as flippantly and
confidently of taking all British America in the course of this
winter, and holding it, as if they already had the title deeds in
their pockets. If they come on the strength of their own
resources, it will be, indeed, a laughable scare ; and from what
is now occurring in New York, we may easily foresee the
glorious denouement. Two millions of Protestants and eigh-
teen hundred thousand Catholics, who have mothers, wives, and
daughters — happy homes and free altars, and a Government
of their own choice — will meet them as they would the freebooter
and assassin, with knife in hand on the trail of his victim.

86

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

From their success we have nothing to expect but bloodshed,
rapine, and anarchy, and the overthrow of God’s religion —
for all this is inscribed on their banners. Table-turning and
rapperism the rhapsodies and extravagances of a moon-struck
brain, are to take the place of the old religion in Ireland,
and the priests are to be exterminated under the fostering
aegis of the new Republic. All British America is to be
occupied and declared a neutral territory, wherein Fenian
armies and navies are to be recruited and built up. The
power of England is to be crushed. Protestants, Catholic
priests, and the upper classes of Catholics in Ireland are to
be exterminated, and a new Republic is to be inaugurated
with an ex-lunatic, Mr. O’Mahoney, at its head ! With such
a programme, the Catholics of this country will assuredly
accord to the Fenians, if they come, the warm reception they
so richly deserve.”

The Honourable Thomas D’Arcy McGee had, previously
availed himself of the occasion of the annual concert for
the benefit of the funds of St. Patrick’s Society, held at
Montreal in January of the preceding year, to express his
views in equally plain and unmistakeable language, and his
remarks will always have a greater interest attached to them
from the fact that this denunciation of P'enianism is believed
to have caused that bitter feeling amongst the conspirators
which led to his assassination three years later. After speak-
ing in eloquent terms of Ireland, and the Catholic University,
for which subscriptions were then being taken up, he said : —

“ There is another subject which more immediately con-
cerns ourselves in Montreal and in Canada, which has lately
occupied a good deal of the attention of the press —
I allude to the alleged spread of a seditious Irish society,
originating at New York, and which has chosen to go
behind the long Christian record of their ancestors to
find in Pagan darkness and blindness the appropriate
name of Fenians. (Laughter). A statement having been
made the other day in the Toronto Globe , on the authority
of its Montreal correspondent, that there were 1,500 of
these contemporary pagans in Montreal, a statement made.

D’Arcy McGee Denounces Fenian ism.

87

I am sure, without intentional malice on the correspondents
part, I felt bound, as I suppose you have seen, to deny abso-
lutely that statement. (Cheers). My denial was not given in
my own words, but the alleged fact was denied, and that was
the main point. (Cheers). I now, in your presence, repeat
that denial on behalf of the Irish Catholics of this city. I say
there could not be fifty such scamps associated and meeting
together, not to say 1,500, without your knowledge and mine,
and I repeat absolutely that there is no such body amongst us,
and that the contrary statements are deplorably untrue and
unjust, and impolitic as well as unjust. (Cheers). I regret
that papers of great circulation should lend themselves to the
propagation of such statements, which have a direct tendency
to foster and enhance the very evil they intend to combat.
Already indecent and unauthorized searches have been made
for concealed arms in the Catholic churches ; already, as in
some of the townships of Bruce, the magistrates are very
improperly, in my opinion, arming one class of the people
against the other. (Hear, hear). What consequences of evil
may flow from this step, should make any reasonable man
shudder, and what is it all owing to ? Why, to these often
invented, and always exaggerated newspaper reports. Observe
the absurd figure Upper Canada is made to cut in all this
business. The Protestant million are made to tremble before
a fraction of a fraction, for if there are Fenians in that quarter
of the world, I venture ro say they are as wholly insignificant
in numbers as in every other respect. (Cheers). At the risk,
however, of sharing the fate of all unmasked advisers, I would
say to the Catholics of Upper Canada, in each locality, if
there is any, the least proof that this foreign disease has
seized on any, the least among you, establish at once, for your
own sake, for the country’s sake, a cordon sanitaire around
your people ; establish a committee which will purge your
ranks of this political leprosy ; weed out and cast off those
rotten members, who, without a single governmental grievance
to complain of in Canada, would yet weaken and divide us in
these days of danger and anxiety. (Cheers). Instead of
symoathy for the punishment they are drawing upon them-

88

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

selves, there ought to be a general indignation at the perils
such wretches would, if permitted to exist among us, draw
upon the whole community, politically and religiously. How
would any Catholic who hears me like to see the parish
Church a stable, and St. Patrick’s a barrack ? How would
our working men like to see our docks desolate, our canals
closed, our new buildings arrested, ruin in our streets, and
famine shivering among the ruins ? And this is what these
wretched conspirators, if they had the power, would bring to
pass, as surely as fire produces ashes from wood, or cold
produces ice from water. (Cheers). I repeat here deliber-
ately that I do not believe in the existence of any such
organization in Lower Canada, certainly not in Montreal ; but
that there are, or have been, emissaries from the United States
among us, for the purpose of establishing it, has been so often
and so confidently stated, that what I have said on the general
subject will, I hope, not be considered untimely or uncalled
for.” (Hear, hear).

These timely and patriotic utterances of men so influential,
had a soothing effect upon the public mind, inasmuch as they
indicated, that, while the organization had taken root in
Canada, it was not so widespread as was generally supposed,
and would be opposed by some of the most eminent Irish
Roman Catholics in the country.

On December 4th the following Delegates met in London
to settle the details of the Act to give effect to the Union
of the Provinces : — The Honourables John A. Macdonald,
George E. Cartier, A. T. Galt, W. P. Howland, H. L. Lange-
vin and Wm. McDougall, representing Canada ; the Honour-
ables S. L. Tilley, P. Mitchell, R. D. Wilmot, C. Fisher and
J. M. Johnston, representing New Brunswick ; and the Hon-
ourables Chas. Tupper, W. A. Henry, J. W. Ritchie, A. G.
Archibald and J. McCully, representing Nova Scotia.

The Honourable John A. Macdonald was unanimously
elected Chairman.

For several weeks the Conference was engaged in pre-
paring the new Constitution, and on February 7, 1867, the
Bill, Confederating the Provinces, was introduced into the

Birth of the Dominion of Canada.

89

Imperial Government by Lord Carnarvon. It passed through
the various stages in the House of Lords in less than three
weeks and was brought down to the House of Commons
without delay, where it was read a third time and finally
passed, on March 8th. On March 28th it received the Royal
assent and became one of the laws of the Empire. On May
22nd, Her Majesty’s proclamation was issued, bringing the
Dominion of Canada into existence on July 1, 1867.

Through the young giant’s mighty limbs, that stretch from sea to sea,
There runs a throb of conscious life — of waking energy.

From Nova Scotia’s misty coast to far Columbia’s shore,

She wakes — a band of scattered homes and colonies no more,

But a young nation, with her life full beating in her breast,

A noble future in her eyes — the Britain of the West.

Hers be the noble task to fill the yet untrodden plains
With fruitful many-sided life that courses through her veins ;

The English honour, nerve and pluck — the Scotchman’s love of right— 7
The grace and courtesy of France — the Irish fancy bright —

The Saxon’s faithful love of home, and home’s affections blest ;

And, chief of all, our holy faith — of all our treasures best.

A people poor in pomp and state, but rich in noble deeds,

Holding that righteousness exalts the people that it leads ;

As yet the waxen mould is soft, the opening page is fair,

It rests with those who rule us now, to leave their impress there ;

The stamp of true nobility, high honour, stainless truth ;

The earnest quest of noble ends ; the generous heart of youth ;

The love of country, soaring far above dull party strife ;

The love of learning, art and song — the crowning grace of life ;

The love of science, roaming far through nature’s hidden ways ;

The love and fear of Nature’s God — a nation’s highest praise ;

So, in the long hereafter, this Canada shall be
The worthy heir of British power and British liberty.

— Fidelis.

CHAPTER XXVII.

1867-1871.

Sir John A. Macdonald the first Premier of the Dominion — List of Ministers —
Reform Convention — The policy of the party — The position of the Reform
members of the Ministry — General election — Meeting of first Dominion
Parliament, November 7, 1867 — The Intercolonial Railway — North-West
Resolutions — Assassination of Mr. McGee — Pacification of Nova Scotia
— Mr. Howe enters the Ministry — Departure of Lord Monck and arrival of
Lord Lisgar — Second session of Parliament April 15, 1869 — Mr. McKen-
zie’s resolutions on Intercolonial Railway — “Better terms” for Nova
Scotia — Reconstruction of Cabinet — Red River troubles — Third session of
Parliament February 15, 1870 — The commercial policy of the Opposition —
A Zollvereign with the United States advocated — Sir John Macdonald’s
opposition — Honourable Charles Tupper enters the Cabinet — Fourth
session of Parliament February 15, 1871 — British Columbia resolutions —
The Joint High Commission — Honourable Alexander Campbell’s mission
to England — Official correspondence — Names of Commissioners — Sir A.
T. Galt’s resolutions — The Globe's article thereon — Sir John Macdonald’s
difficult position.

T HE Honourable John A. Macdonald was called upon by
Lord Monck to form the first Cabinet of the new Con-
federacy. He accepted the task and succeeded in gathering
together probably the ablest Cabinet that Canada has ever
seen. In making his selections he announced his policy as
follows: “ I desire to bring to my aid in the new Government
those men, irrespective of party, who represent the majorities
in the different provinces of the Union. I do not want it to
be felt by any section of the country that they have no repre-
sentative in the Cabinet, and no influence in the Government.
And as there are now no issues to divide parties, and as
all that is required is to have in the Government the men who
are best adapted to put the new machinery in motion, I desire
to ask those to join me who have the confidence, and who
represent the majorities in the various sections of those who
were in favour of the adoption of this system of Government
and who wish to see it satisfactorily carried out.” The first
Administration of the Dominion of Canada consisted of :

Hon. John A. Macdonald, Premier and Minister of Justice.

Hon. George E. Cartier, Minister of Militia.

Hon. Alexander Campbell, Postmaster-General.

Hon. A. T. Galt, Minister of Finance.

00

First Dominion Cabinet.

9i

Hon. S. L. Tilley, Minister of Customs.

Hon. A. J. Fergusson-Blair, President of the Council.

Hon. H. L. Langevin, Secretary of State.

Hon. W. P. Howland, Minister of Inland Revenue.

Hon. Peter Mitchell, Minister of Marine and Fisheries.

Hon. A. G. Archibald, Secretary of State for the Provinces.

Hon. Edward Kenny, Receiver-General.

Hon. William McDougall, Minister of Public Works.

Hon. J. C. Chapais, Minister of Agriculture.

As the Ministry was composed of about equal numbers of
Conservatives and Reformers, it was essentially a coalition
Government and as such was opposed by that branch of the
Reform party under the leadership of the Honourable George
Brown.

On June 27, 1867, the Reform Convention met in Toronto,
Mr. William Patrick, of Prescott, being chairman. The policy
of the party was embodied in fifteen resolutions. These
“ accepted the new Constitution about to be inaugurated, with
a determination to work it loyally and patiently, and to pro-
vide such amendments as experience from year to year may
prove to be expedient,” but condemned the composition of the
Ministry in the following resolution.

“ Resolved , — That coalitions of opposing political parties,
for ordinary administrative purposes, inevitably result in the
abandonment of principle by one or both parties to the com-
pact, the lowering of public morality, lavish public expenditure
and widespread corruption ; that the coalition of 1864 could
only be justified on the ground of imperious necessity, as the
only available mode of obtaining just representation for the
people of Upper Canada, and on the ground that the compact
then made was for a specific measure and for a stipulated
period and was to come to an end as soon as a measure was
attained ; and while the Convention is thoroughly satisfied that
the Reform party has acted in the best interests of the country
by sustaining the Government until the Confederation mea-
sure was secured, it deems it an imperative duty to declare
that the temporary alliance between the Reform and Conser-
vative parties should now cease, and that no Government will
be satisfactory to the people of Upper Canada which is

92

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

formed and maintained by a coalition of public men holding
opposite political principles.”

In the speeches which were made on the resolutions the
conduct of those Reform members from Upper Canada who
had accepted portfolios in the Cabinet, was strongly
denounced. Replies were made by the Honourables W. P.
Howland and William Macdougall, who stated that they had
accepted office because they considered that the great Liberal
party of Upper Canada should be represented in the first
Cabinet of the Dominion, that they considered it their duty to
work together with their Liberal friends from the Maritime
Provinces, who had laboured so hard and sacrificed so much to
bring about the Union, and finally that they were willing to
submit their conduct to the decision of the electors of the
country.

Many reasons may be adduced to prove that these gentle-
men were right in the course which they pursued. Both
parties had united upon a common principle — that of estab-
lishing the new Constitution upon a firm basis ; of properly
adjusting all its parts ; and setting in motion the whole
machinery. There was no occasion for a party fight ; there
were no grievances to redress ; no old mismanagement to
reform. No benefit could be derived from a quarrel ; no good
end could be subserved. No thirteen men could have come
together for a nobler or more worthy purpose than that which
induced Reformers and Conservatives to unite in the first
Government of the Dominion of Canada, to establish the new
Constitution which had been obtained by the sinking of party
differences. Without a junction of parties in 1864, Confedera-
tion could not have been accomplished. 'Both parties were
entitled to the honour of so splendid a result, and both had a
right to share the triumphs and enjoy the rewards of so splen-
did an achievement. Mr. Brown had joined with these men
on a former occasion ; had worked with them ; had participated
in the festivities and honours enjoyed by them when delegates
to England, and had praised them, both in public and in
private, for the honourable manner in which they had acted
with him in solving the problem of the Union. They were not

3N. J. A. CHAPLEAU, THE HON. SIR A. P. CARON,

Q.C., LL.D., P.C. K.C.M.G., Q.C., P.C.

Secretary of State. Minister of Militi and Defence,

Lord Monck as Governor-General.

95

worse now than they were then, and to denounce members of
his party for doing in 1867 what he had done in 1864 was
most unreasonable.

The new Constitution had to be inaugurated under
peculiar conditions, and harmony and union of parties were
especially necessary to give it due eclat and effect ; party
issues, which formerly existed, had been settled ; the object
contemplated was not a party or sectional one, but national,
and one in which all parties were interested. The men called
upon to inaugurate the new order of things were peculiarly
fitted for the task, because they had prepared it ; and a better
guarantee was afforded to the country at large of the safety of
the trust, when commended to the care of a coalition Govern-
ment, than if in the hands of one which was strictly party.
For these and other reasons which might be adduced, every
reasonable man felt that the Administration was entitled to
fair play, and to be judged by its policy and its acts, and that
those Upper Canadian Reformers who gave it support and
joined it as members, acted in a proper, patriotic and com-
mendable manner.

Lord Monck was sworn in as Governor-General of the
Dominion in the forenoon of July 1, 1867, and immediately
announced that he had received Her Majesty’s command to
confer the title of K. C. B. on the Honourable John A. Mac-
donald, and the title of C. B. on the Honourables G. E. Cartier,
S. L. Tilley, A. T. Galt, Charles Tupper, W. P. Howland, and
William Macdougall.

Early in August writs for a new election were issued and
preparations were made for a keen contest. Mr. Brown con-
tested South Ontario with Mr. T. N. Gibbs, but was defeated
by seventy-one votes. The Province of Ontario elected sixty-
seven Ministerial supporters, and fifteen members of the Oppo-
sition. In the Province of Quebec all the constituencies but
twelve were carried by the Government. In New Brunswick
the Opposition only secured three seats. In Nova Scotia,
however, Dr. Tupper was the only Government supporter who
was returned.

The first Dominion Parliament opened on November 7th,

9 6

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

when the Honourable Joseph Cauchon was appointed Speaker
of the Senate, and the Honourable James Cockburn was elected
Speaker of the House of Commons. The Speech from the
Throne foreshadowed a large amount of legislation respecting
the currency, tariff, excise, and postal laws, the public works,
management of the militia, care of the Indians, assimilation of
the criminal laws, insolvency, the development of the fisheries,
the building of the Intercolonial railway, etc. When the Bill
for the construction of this railway was brought up, Mr. Dorion
moved in amendment that the route should not be determined
on without the consent of Parliament, which was rejected by a
vote of 35 to 83, which may be taken as a fair indication of
the relative strength of the Opposition and the Government.
One of the most important events of the session was the
adoption of a series of resolutions introduced by the Honour-
able Wm. Macdougall, with regard to the North-West, setting
forth the reasons why Her Majesty should be graciously
pleased to unite that country with Canada, and asking that
authority should be granted to the Dominion Parliament to
legislate on the subject. Mr. Macdougall’s speech was able
and exhaustive, the resolutions were all adopted, and a select
committee appointed to draw up an address embodying
them.

Parliament adjourned from December 21, 1867, to March
12, 1868. After being in session about three weeks the
country was horror-stricken by the news of the assassination of
the Honourable Thomas D’Arcy McGee. He had attended
the House of Commons on the night of April 6th and made an
eloquent speech on the subject of Dr. Tupper’s mission to
England. He left the Parliament Buildings about 2.30 on the
morning of the 7th, accompanied by Mr. R. Macfarlane, M.P.,
and some messengers. They parted at the corner of Sparks
and Metcalfe streets, he proceeding westward, along the former
thoroughfare, to his boarding house. A few minutes later
a son of Mrs. Trotter — the boarding-house keeper — who was
a page in the House, and who was returning home after his
duties, heard a pistol shot and, on arriving at his mother’s
door, found Mr. McGee lying dead, having been killed by a

Assassination of D’Arcy McGee.

97

bullet which had struck the base of the skull in rear and
passed through his mouth, carrying away several teeth. The
cowardly murder was at once attributed to the Fenian
brotherhood, in revenge for his outspoken denunciations of
their unpatriotic schemes, and the most strenuous efforts were
made to bring the assassin to justice. After a time the
evidence pointed to Patrick James Whelan, a journeyman
tailor, as the guilty one. He was accordingly arrested, tried,
found guilty and hanged in the gaol at Ottawa on October
II, 1869.

Mr. McGee’s tragic death caused the greatest sorrow to
the whole country. He was a man beloved and esteemed
for his qualities of head and heart and truly did Sir John
Macdonald say of him “ He might have lived a long and
respected life had he chosen the easy path of popularity
rather than the stern one of duty. He has lived a short life,
respected and beloved, and has died a heroic death, a martyr
to the cause of his country.”

The Honourable Thomas D’Arcy McGee was known as
a litterateur before he became a Canadian politician. He was
an orator who had the art of making trifles graceful and
brilliant, not that his speeches were wanting in the more
sterling qualities of original thought and sound argument,
but the utterance added grace and beauty to the matter and
made it more pleasant to hear than to read. His countrymen
were justly proud of his talents and regarded him as their
especial representative. Genial, warm-hearted and impulsive,
he had a host of friends amongst all classes of the population.
He had represented Montreal West since 1857 and was
several times elected by acclamation. He was descended
from an old Ulster family and was born at Carlingford,
County of Louth, Ireland, April 13, 1825, and educated at
Wexford. Besides contributing largely to magazine literature
in the United Kingdom and America, he had written the
following works : — “ Lives of Irish writers of the Seventh
Century,” “Life of Art,” “ Irish settlers in America,” “ Catholic
history of America,” “ History of the Reformation in Ireland,”

“ Canadian Ballads,” and a “ Popular history of Ireland.”

VOL II.

7

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

Out of respect for Mr. McGee’s memory, Parliament
adjourned until April 14th. On re-assembling, the business
was pushed through with all speed, and prorogation took
place on May 22nd.

During the recess the attention of the Government was
devoted to the pacification of Nova Scotia. Sir John Mac-
donald and some of his colleagues went to Halifax in August,
but no immediate results followed. In October he again
pressed the matter in a letter to Mr. Howe, expressing the
willingness of the Government to consider all questions in
a fair and equitable spirit, and offering Mr. Howe a seat in
the Cabinet. Mr. Howe replied that he would still prefer
a repeal of the Union Act but as there seemed little hope
of that, he was disposed to enter into negotiations for better
terms for his Province. The result was that documents were
laid before the Ministry embodying the claims of Nova Scotia
for better terms. These were carefully considered and an
elaborate report thereon, drawn up by the Honourable John
Rose, who had become Minister of Finance by the resigna-
tion of the Honourable A. T. Galt. He considered that it
had been satisfactorily proved that the terms of Union were
less favourable to Nova Scotia than to the other Provinces
and, therefore, the Province was entitled to better terms.
These terms having been embodied in an Order in Council
and it having been agreed that a Bill embodying them should
be submitted to Parliament, Mr. Howe abandoned all further
opposition and entered the Cabinet as President of the Coun-
cil, in the place of the Honourable Fergusson-Blair, deceased.

Lord Monck sailed from Quebec on December 14th and
was succeeded by Sir John Young, who arrived at Ottawa
on November 27th and was sworn in on December 1st.

The second session was opened on April 15, 1869. The
date was unusually late, but was necessitated by the absence
in England of Sir George Cartier and Honourable Wm. Mac-
dougall, who were arranging for the transfer to the Dominion
of the North-West Territory, and also by a change in the
manner of keeping the Public Accounts, consequent on Con-
federation.

Intercolonial Railway Debate.

99

The session only lasted until June 23rd, but was produc-
tive of many interesting debates. One of these referred to
the Intercolonial Railway, and Mr. Mackenzie expressed the
views of the Opposition in the following resolutions : —

“ That in the construction of the Intercolonial Railway
it is of the highest importance for commercial and economical
reasons, to have the shortest and cheapest line selected, which,
in addition to the main object, will afford access to the best
and nearest part on the Bay of Fundy.

“ That the Bay of Chaleurs route selected by the Govern-
ment is not one which will best promote the commercial
interests of the Dominion, or best secure the settlement of the
remote portions of the provinces through which the road will
pass, and that, while it gives the smallest commercial
advantage, it will entail the largest expenditure in its
construction, and afterwards in its maintenance and working
expenses.

“ That in view of the serious effect to the finances of the
Dominion, and the permanent and continuous loss to the
commerce of the country, consequent on the adoption of a
long and expensive route to the sea, it is desirable not to
proceed with work on those portions of the line not common to
the central or southern routes, with a view to the adoption of
a route which will give access to the shortest and cheapest
line, without interfering with the distance to Halifax as the
ultimate terminus.”

Mr. R. J. Cartwright moved an amendment setting forth
the provisions of the Imperial and Dominion Acts, and
concluding as follows :

“ That under these circumstances the House considers that
any discussion as to the route of the Intercolonial Railway
would not answer any good purpose, and would greatly
prejudice the credit of the Dominion at home and abroad.”

The amendment was seconded by the Honourable Dr.
Tupper. Both mover and seconder made very able speeches,
pointing out that, in the negotiations with the Imperial Gov-
ernment, it had always been agreed that the latter should
select the route. They had guaranteed the loan to build the

IOO

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

line upon this express condition, and it would now be a
breach of faith to pass Mr. Mackenzie’s motion. The House
concurred in this view, and the amendment was carried by a
vote of 1 14 to 28.

When Mr. Howe made his motion, on June nth, to go
into committee on the resolutions fixing the amount at which
the debt of Nova Scotia was to be taken, and granting an
increased subsidy, Mr. Blake took exception to them as being
unconstitutional, and moved an amendment to the effect that
the liabilities of Canada and each province were settled by
the British North American Act, that the Parliament of
Canada could not change such basis of settlement, that the
unauthorized assumption of such power would be injurious to
the union, and therefore it was inexpedient to go into com-
mittee on the resolutions. A long debate ensued, in which
part was taken by Messrs. Mackenzie, J. H. Cameron, Harri-
son, Tupper, Gray, Smith, Cartier, and Howe. On a vote
being taken, the amendment was lost by 57 to 96. Mr. E. B.
Wood offered another amendment declaring that it was inex-
pedient to disturb the financial arrangements with Nova
Scotia, unless the other provinces were granted a corres-
ponding advantage, which also was lost, the vote standing 46
to 88. Mr. Holton moved another amendment requiring the
consent of all the other provinces to the arrangement, which
was also lost on division by a vote of 52 to 97.

After prorogation Mr. Rose visited Washington with
reference to a new Reciprocity Treaty, but was unsuccessful,
and a short time afterwards acquired an interest in a banking
concern, and sailed for England as the representative of the
firm of Morton, Rose & Co. The position of Finance Minis-
ter was tendered to Sir A. T. Galt, but declined. It was then
offered to Sir Francis Hincks, who accepted. He had been
absent from Canada for fourteen years, during which period he
had acted as Governor of Barbadoes and the Windward
Islands, and as Governor of British Guiana. He offered
himself for his old constituency, North Renfrew, and was
elected by a majority of 120 over Mr. Findlay. A re-con-
struction of the Cabinet took place, some new men being

The Re-constructed Cabinet.

ioi

brought in, and some of the old Ministers changing portfolios.
As re-constructed, the Ministry stood as follows :

Sir John A. Macdonald, Premier and Minister of Justice.

Sir George E. Cartier, Minister of Militia.

Sir Francis Hincks, Minister of Finance.

Sir Edward Kenny, President of Privy Council.

Hon. S. L. Tilley, Minister of Customs.

Hon. Hector L. Langevin, Minister of Public Works.

Hon. Alexander Morris, Minister of Inland Revenue.

Hon. Joseph Howe, Secretary of Statfe for the Provinces.

Hon. Peter Mitchell, Minister of Marine and Fisheries.

Hon. Alexander Campbell, Postmaster-General.

Hon. Christopher Dunkin, Minister of Agriculture.

Hon. J. C. Chapais, Receiver-General.

Hon. J. C. Aikins, Secretary of State and Registrar-General.

The Honourable William Macdougall resigned his place
in the Administration to accept the position of Lieutenant-
Governor of the North-West Territories, which had been
acquired by the purchase of the rights of the Hudson’s Bay
Company, for the sum of ,£300,000. He arrived at Pembina
on October 30th, but was prevented by an armed party of
half-breeds from entering the country, and was obliged to
return. The insurgents formed a provisional government of
which Louis Riel was President, and proceeded to draw up a
Bill of Rights. Many of those who disapproved of their
conduct were cast into prison, and one of them, Thomas Scott,
was murdered in the most cold-blooded and brutal manner.
To quiet the fears of the half-breeds, and to inspire confidence
as to the fairness of the treatment likely to be received from
the Dominion Government, Bishop Tache was telegraphed to
return from Rome. He did so, and left Ottawa on February
16, 1870, being empowered to invite delegates to Ottawa, and
to offer amnesty for past offences. The arrival of a body of
troops some months later under Colonel Wosley put an end
to the insurrection, and the demands of the half-breeds were
presented by delegates to the Dominion Government.

The third session of Parliament opened on February 1 5,
1870. The debate on the Address lasted for six days, and
the whole policy of the Government was reviewed and critic-

102

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

ized. Sir A. T. Galt announced his inability to give the
Government any further support, and Sir Francis Hincks was
made the subject of a general attack, during which his past
political life was freely commented upon. Mr. Macdougall
also charged Mr. Howe with not having given him a proper
idea of the state of affairs at Fort Garry, and with having
failed to use his influence, during his recent visit to the Red
River country, in a proper manner. The Address was,
however, carried without any amendment being offered.

Mr. L. S. Huntingdon, a leading member of the Opposi-
tion, made a hot attack on the commercial policy of the
Government, and moved the following resolutions in favour of
freer intercourse with the United States.

“ That an Address be presented, representing that the
increasing population and production of this Dominion
demand more extended markets, and a more unrestricted
interchange of commodities with other countries.

“ That a continental system of free commercial inter-
course, bringing under one general customs union with this
Dominion, countries chiefly interested in its trade, would lead
to the expansion of our commerce, and develop our resources
and our products.

“ That such a system should place in a position of com-
mercial equality and reciprocity all countries becoming parties
thereto.

“ That a great advantage would result from placing the
Government of the Dominion in direct communication with
the several states which might be willing to negotiate for such
a customs’ union.

“ That it is expedient to obtain from the Imperial Govern-
ment all necessary powers to enable the Government of the
Dominion to enter into direct communication with such
foreign states as would be disposed, upon terms advantageous
to Canada, to negotiate for such commercial regulations.

“ That in all cases treaties enacting such proposed
customs, union should be submitted to the approval of Her
Majesty.”

Mr. Huntingdon supported his resolutions in the strongest

Resolutions in Favour of a Zollvereign. 103

possible manner, and was backed up by the Honourable A. A.
Dorion, who declared himself warmly in favour of the proposed
zollvereign, and argued that it did not involve discriminating
duties against Great Britain. He also urged that permission
should be obtained from the Imperial Government to negotiate
our own treaties.

Sir John Macdonald vigorously opposed the resolutions,
urging that the course advocated really meant a separation
from the mother country, and that it was much better for
Canada to work in harmony with Great Britain than to
attempt to act for herself, and sue in forma pauperis for
commercial treaties with other countries. He concluded an
able and patriotic speech by moving in amendment

“That this House, while desirous of obtaining for this
Dominion the freest access to the markets of the world, and
thus augmenting its external prosperity, is satisfied that that
object can best be obtained by the concurrent action of the
Imperial and Canadian Governments.

“ That any attempt to enter into treaties with foreign
powers, without the strongest direct support of the mother
country as a principal party, must fail, and that a customs’
union with the United States, now so heavily taxed, would be
unfair to the Empire, and injurious to the Dominion, and
would weaken the ties now happily existing between them.”

Many other speeches were made, but it was quite evident
the House was in harmony with Sir John’s views against
union with the United States or separation from the Empire,
and his amendment was carried by a vote of 100 to 58.

After passing many important measures, amongst which
were the Manitoba, Banking, and Tariff Acts, Parliament
was prorogued on May 12th.

On June 21st Honourable Charles Tupper, C. B., entered
the Cabinet as successor to Sir Edward Kenny appointed
Administrator of the Province of Nova Scotia. On appealing
to his constituents he was re-elected by acclamation.

On October 8th, Sir John Young was raised to the peerage
under the title of Baron Lisgar.

The fourth session of the Dominion Parliament opened on

104

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

January 15, 1871. Amongst the subjects referred to in the
Speech from the Throne were two very important ones,
namely the reception of British Columbia into the Confedera-
tion, and the appointment of a Joint High Commission to
consider the question of the fisheries and other matters.

Sir George E. Cartier introduced the resolutions, with
respect to the former, and explained the policy of the Govern-
ment. He said that the terms agreed to were in the nature of
a treaty, and did not admit of alteration. They must be
accepted or rejected as a whole. The clause which caused
most debate was that which referred to the Pacific Railway
and, on this point, he explained the policy of the Administra-
tion to be, to build the road by the aid of private companies, to
whom would be granted a certain amount of land and, perhaps,
a small money subsidy. He estimated the length of the road
at 2,500 miles, and the land it was proposed to give would
amount to about 64,000,000 acres. He forcibly commended
the scheme to the consideration of the House, urging that
union with British Columbia would give Canada a maritime
position that, in time, would be second only to that of
England. He was ably and eloquently supported by Mr.
(now Sir Leonard) Tilley, Dr. (now Sir James) Grant, Mr.
Masson, Colonel Gray, Sir Francis Plincks and others.

Mr. Mackenzie, on the part of the Opposition, said that “he
looked upon the acquisition of British Columbia as a political
necessity, but thought two much haste ought not to be made
or mistakes would occur. He differed entirely with the
Government on their railway policy. He did not think that
the right way to build the railway was to give away all the
best lands. These should be kept as free grants for immi-
grants. He was totally opposed to undertaking such an
immense burden as guaranteeing to build this gigantic rail-
way in ten years. He did not consider it capable of accom-
plishment, and it was improper to delude the people of British
Columbia with the idea that it was.” He concluded by moving
in amendment :

“ That all the words after ‘ that ’ be struck out, and the fol-
lowing inserted, ‘ the proposed terms of union with British

Opposition ot the Pacific Railway.

05

Columbia pledge the Dominion to commence within two
years, and complete within ten years the Pacific Railway, the
route for which has not been surveyed or its expenses calcu-
lated. The said terms also pledge the Government of Canada
to a yearly payment to British Columbia of the sum of
$100,000 in perpetuity, equal to a capital sum of $2,000,000, for
the cession of a tract of waste land on the route of the Pacific
Railway, to aid its construction, which British Columbia ought
to cede without charge, in like manner as the iands of Canada
are proposed to be ceded for the same purpose. The House
is of opinion that Canada should not be pledged to do more
than proceed at once with the necessary surveys, and, after the
route is determined, to prosecute the work at as early a period
as the state of the finances will justify.”

Mr. Jones (Halifax) moved in amendment to the amend-
ment :

“ That the following words be added, ‘ The proposed
engagement respecting the said Pacific Railway would, in
the opinion of the House, press too heavily on the resources
of Canada.’ ”

This was lost by a vote of 63 to 98. '

Mr. Ross (Dundas) then moved in amendment :

“ That, in the opinion of this House, the further considera-
tion of the question be postponed for the present session of
Parliament, in order that greater and more careful considera-
tion may be given to a question of such magnitude and impor-
tance to the people of this Dominion.”

This also failed to carry, the vote standing 75 to 85.

The vote was then taken on Mr. Mackenzie’s amendment
which was defeated by a vote of 67 to 94.

Honourable Mr. Dorion then moved in amendment :

“ That it be resolved, in view of the engagements already
entered into since Confederation, and the large expenditure
urgently required for canal and railway purposes, this House
would not be justified in imposing upon the people of this
Dominion the enormous burdens required to construct within
ten years a railway to the Pacific, as proposed by the resolu-
tions submitted to the House.”

1 06

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

This was also lost on division, the vote standing 70 to 91.
The main motion was then carried on the same division.

On the motion for the second reading of the Address, in
accordance with the resolutions, Mr. Mackenzie offered
another amendment, as follows :

“ That this House, while willing to give its best considera-
tion to any reasonable terms of union with British Columbia,
is of opinion that the terms embodied in the Address are so
unreasonable and so unjust to Canada, that this House should
not agree thereto.”

After considerable further debate the amendment was lost
by a vote of 68 to 86.

The Joint High Commission was the result of the action of
the Canadian Ministry in 1870. The Fenian raids, which
were apparently encouraged by the people of the United
States, and the continual encroachments of their fishermen
upon Canadian waters, gave rise to a feeling of dissatisfaction
and irritation in Canada, g.nd it was felt that something
definite should be done about it. Accordingly, on June 9th of
that year, an Order-in-Council was passed, appointing the
Honourable Alexander Campbell a Commissioner to proceed
to England and consult with the Imperial Government res-
pecting “ the proposed withdrawal of troops from Canada ; the
question of fortifications ; the recent invasions of Canadian
territory by citizens of the United States, and the previous
threats and hostile preparations which compelled the Govern-
ment to call out the militia, and to obtain the consent of Par-
liament to the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act ; the
systematic trespasses on Canadian fishing grounds by United
States fishermen, and the unsettled question as to the limits
within which foreigners can fish under the Treaty of 1818.”

Mr. Campbell succeeded in arriving at an understanding
with Lord Kimberley, the Colonial Secretary, the result of
which was that on January 26, 1871, Sir Edward Thornton,
British Minister at Washington, addressed a letter to the
Honourable Hamilton Fish, United States Secretary of State,
proposing the appointment of a Joint High Commission to
“ treat and discuss the mode of settling the different questions

The Joint High Commission.

107

which have arisen out of the fisheries, as well as all those
which affect the relations of the United States towards Her
Majesty’s possessions in North America.”

Mr. Fish replied “ that the President approved of the pro-
posal, but was of opinion that the removal of the differences
which arose during the rebellion in the United States, and
which have existed since then, growing out of the acts com-
mitted by the several armed vessels which have given rise to
the claims generaly known as the ‘ Alabama claims,’ will also
be essential to the restoration of cordial and amicable relations
between the two Governments, and he therefore proposed
that this subject should also be treated by the Commission.”
This was accepted “ provided that all other claims, both of
British subjects and citizens of the United States, arising out
of acts committed during the recent civil war in this country
are similarly referred to the same Commission.”

This being agreed to, both sides proceeded at once to
appoint Commissioners. Those who represented Great Brit-
ain were Earl de Grey and Ripon, President of the Privy
Council ; Sir Stafford Northcote, M.P., Sir Edward Thornton,
British Minister at Washington; Sir John A. Macdonald,
Premier of Canada; and Bernard Montague, Esq., Professor
of International Law in the University of Oxford.

The American Commissioners were Messrs. Hamilton
Fish, Secretary of State; Robert C. Schenck, United States
Minister to Great Britain ; Samuel Nelson, Judge of the
United States Supreme Court ; Ex-Judge E. R. Hoar, of
Massachusetts, and George H. Williams, of Oregon.

Lord Tenterden acted as secretary to the British Commis-
sioners, and Mr. J. C. Bancroft Davis as secretary to the
Americans. The Commission was appointed after the Domin-
ion Parliament had met, and Sir A. T. Galt, with, no doubt,
the best intentions, thought it advisable to place on record the
views of the House as to the stand which should be taken at
the Conference, and accordingly moved a series of resolutions
as to the claims of Canada. Finding that they were consid-
ered inopportune he withdrew them, but they brought from
the Globe a manly editorial of which the following is an extract:

io8

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

“ The spirit and temper of the people of Canada, with
respect to their fisheries, is perfectly well understood. The
action taken by the Government last year was a direct recog-
nition of the popular sentiment. A formal declaration on
that point, therefore, by Parliament, is altogether supero-
gatory, and to suggest by implication that any proposal
will be made to alter or diminish the just rights of the Domin-
ion, without our consent, is even more objectionable. We
certainly fail to see the propriety of imputing to Grea^ Britain
an intention to sacrifice Canada, in any respect, to a desire for
peace and friendly relations with the United States. We look
upon the interests of Great Britain and Canada as identical
and inseparable. We believe that our strength and safety
consist in throwing upon Great Britain, and making her
ministers feel the sole responsibility of ensuring the harmony
of our relations with, and protecting our rights against, foreign
powers. To hint broadly, and in the face of our watchful and
greedy neighbour, that Great Britain may barter away the
rights of her dependency, is surely a very strange mode of
rendering support to Great Britain’s or Canada’s representa-
tives on the Commission. Any eagerness to offer terms is
pretty certain to encourage the Americans by whatever means
they possess to secure what they desire without making any
return for it. The Commission, as we understand it, is to act
merely as a deliberative body. It will be time enough for us
to protest when we find that its deliberations have resulted in
any decision likely to compromise our national rights — an
event not at all likely to arise. Public men who have been
connected for years with the politics of this country, and who
have had experience of the questions that have arisen between
Canada and the United States, should know the temper of the
Americans better than to suppose that their Commissioners
are at all more likely to recognize the justice of the position
assumed by Canada because we publicly register a string of
inuendoes suggestive of our own weakness and a want of
confidence in the Imperial Government.”

The first meeting of the Commission was held February
27, 1881, and was adjourned from time to time until May 8th,

First Joint High Commission.

109

when the Treaty of Washington was signed. The proceedings
at these meetings, the decisions arrived at and the reasons
therefor, the stand taken by Canada’s representatives, and the
provisions of the treaty itself, are so full and so exhaustively
given in the speech made by Sir John Macdonald, in intro-
ducing the Bill to give effect to the treaty, on May 3, 1872,
that we will quote it in full as the best possible explanation
that can be given.

Sir John’s position on the Commission was a most difficult
one. The British members thought he took too strong a
stand for Canadian interests, while the Reform party of
Canada charged him with having sacrificed them. A careful
perusal of his speech, which was a masterpiece of exposition,
clear, logical and concise, will demonstrate that he acted in
accordance with one central idea : that the full right of
Canada to the in-shore fisheries should be acknowledged by
England and that, whatever the Joint High Commission might
decide, regarding them, such decision should be of no effect
unless ratified by the Canadian Parliament. He took the
precaution not to accept the appointment until an explicit
declaration of our right to the in-shore fisheries had been given
by the Imperial Parliament. And though he could not have
refused to sign any treaty that might have been made, if he
continued a member of the Commission to the last, he would
have sent in his resignation as a member of that body, if he
had not been able to exact the condition that the fishing
articles should depend for their ratification on the Parliament
of Canada. Carrying both these points, he secured the full
admission of our rights of property and the right of our
Parliament to guard them. Although the question was fiercely
fought out in both branches of the Legislature, and his con-
duct strongly denounced by his opponents, time has fully
justified the wisdom of his conduct, and those who opposed
him then will now endorse his actions in Canada’s interest.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Sir John Macdonald’s speech in introducing the Bill to carry into effect the
provisions of the Washington Treaty, May 3, 1872 — The clauses of which
the Bill was composed — Possible objections to mode of introduction consid-
ered — The power of the House to accept or reject — Reference to the Reci-
procity of 1854 — Rights of Canada to the in-shore fisheries — Liability of
the United States for the Fenian raids — The Alabama Claims — Sir John
Macdonald’s appointment — Recognition of Canada’s right to the inshore
fisheries — The difficulties of Sir John’s position — The Canadian Govern-
ment insists upon its right to control the fisheries — Proceedings of the
Commission — Reciprocity offered in coal, salt, fish, and lumber — But with-
drawn because Canadian Parliament had made them free — Criticisms
replied to — The Lake and Pacific fisheries reserved — Attitude of Amer-
ican fishermen — Consequences of rejecting the treaty.

U A /T R’ Speaker, I move for leave to bring in a Bill to carry
1V1 into effect certain clauses of the treaty negotiated
between the United States and Great Britain in 1871. The
object of the Bill is stated in the title. It is to give validity, as
far as Canada is concerned, to the treaty which was framed last
year in the manner so well known to the House and country.
The Bill in itself, as I proposed to introduce it the other day,
was simply a Bill to suspend those clauses of the Fishery Acts
which prevent fishermen of the United States from fishing in
the in-shore waters of Canada, such suspension to continue
during the existence of the treaty. I confined it to that
object at the time, because the question really before this
House, was whether the fishery articles of the treaty should
receive sanction of Parliament or not. As, however, a desire
was expressed on the other side that I should enter into the
subject fully on asking leave to bring in the Bill, and as, on
examining the cognate Act, which has been laid before Con-
gress at Washington, I find that all the subjects — even those
subjects which do not require legislation — have been repeated
in that Act, in order, one would suppose, to make the Act in
the nature of a contract to be obligatory during the existence
of the treaty, so that in good faith it could not be repealed
during that time, I propose to follow the same course.

“The Act I ask leave to bring in provides, in the first
clause, for the suspension of the fishery laws of Canada, so far
as they prevent citizens of the United States from fishing in

Washington Treaty Speech.

hi

our inshore waters. The Bill also provides that, during the
existence of the treaty, fish and fish oil (except fish of the
inland lakes of the United States and the rivers emptying
into those lakes, and fish preserved in oil), being the produce
of the fisheries of the United States, shall be admitted into
Canada free of duty. The third clause provides for the
continuance of the bonding system during the twelve years,
or longer period, provided by the treaty, and the fourth clause
provides that the right of transhipment contained in the 30th
clause of the treaty shall, in like manner, be secured to
citizens of the United States during the existence of the
treaty. The last clause of the Bill provides that it shall com€
into effect whenever, upon an Order-in-Council, a proclam-
ation of the Governor-General is issued, giving effect to the
Act.

“ In submitting the Act in this form, I am aware that
objections might be taken to some of the clauses on the
ground that, having relation to questions of trade and money,
they should be commenced by resolution adopted in Com-
mittee of the Whole. That objection does not apply to the
whole of the Bill — to those clauses which suspend the action
of our Fishery Act ; but it would affect, according to the gen-
eral principle, the clause which provides that there shall be no
duty on fish and fish oil, and also the clauses respecting the
bonding system and transhipment. I do not, however, antici-
pate that that objection will be taken, because in presenting
the Bill in this form, I have followed the precedent established
in 1854, when the measure relating to the Reciprocity Treaty
was introduced in Parliament. It was then held that the
Act, having been introduced as based upon a treaty which
was submitted by a message from the Crown, became a
matter of public and general policy, and ceased to be
merely a matter of trade, and although those honourable
gentlemen who interested themselves in parliamentary and
political matters at that date will remember that the Act
which was introduced by the Attorney-General for Lower
Canada in 1854, Mr. Drummond, was simply an Act declar-
ing that various articles, being the produce of the United

1 12

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

States, should, during the existence of the treaty, be received
free into Canada, and that Act repealed the tariff pro tanto ,
it was not introduced by resolution, but after the treaty had
been submitted and laid on the table, and after a formal
message had been brought down by Mr. Morin, the leader
of the Government in the House, to the effect that the Bill
was introduced with the sanction of the Governor-General.
I do not, therefore, anticipate that objection will be taken by
any honourable member, and I suppose the precedent so
solemnly laid down at that time, will be held to be binding
now. Should objection, however, be taken, the clauses of
the Bill respecting the suspension of the Fishery Act and
transhipment, are sufficient to be proceeded with in this
manner. The other portions may be printed in italics and
can be brought up as parts of the Bill or separately as resolu-
tions, as may be thought best. The journals of the House
stated that on September 21, 1854, Mr. Chauveau submitted
a copy of the treaty, which was set out on the face of the
journals. On the same day Mr. Drummond asked leave of
the House to bring in a Bill to give effect to a certain treaty
between Her Majesty and the United States of America;
and on the 22nd, on the order of the day, for the second read-
ing of the Bill, Mr. Morin, by command, brought down a
message from the Governor-General signifying that it was
by His Excellency’s sanction it had been introduced, where-
upon the House proceeded to the second reading. That Bill
was a simple one declaring that various articles mentioned
in the treaty should, during the existence of the treaty, be
admitted into this country free of duty. The House now.
Mr. Speaker, if they give leave that this Bill shall be intro-
duced and read a first time will be in the possession of all
those portions of the Treaty of Washington that in any way
come within the action of the Legislature.

“ Although the debate upon this subject will, as a matter
of course, take a wide range and will properly include all
the subjects connected with the treaty in which Canada has
any interest, yet it must not be forgotten that the treaty, as
a whole, is in force, with the particular exceptions I have

Washington Treaty Speech.

13

mentioned ; and the decision of this House will, after all,
be simply whether the articles of the treaty, extending from
the 1 8th to the 25th, shall receive the sanction of Parliament,
or whether those portions of the treaty shall be a dead
letter. This subject has excited a great deal of interest, as
was natural in Canada, ever since May 8, 1871, when the
treaty was signed at Washington. It has been largely dis-
cussed in the public prints, and opinions of various kinds
have been expressed upon it — some altogether favourable,
some altogether opposed, and many others of intermediate
shades of opinion— and among other parts of the discussion
has not been forgotten, the personal question relating to my-
self — the position I held as a member of this Government,
and as one of the High Commissioners at Washington.
Upon that question I shall have to speak by-and-bye, yet
it is one that has lost much of its interest, from the fact that
by the introduction of this Bill the House and country will
see that the policy of the Government, of which I am a
member, is to carry out or try to carry out the treaty, which
I signed as a plenipotentiary of Her Majesty.

“Under the reservation made in the treaty, this House
and the Legislature of Prince Edward Island have full
power to accept the fishery articles or reject them. In
that matter this House and Parliament have full and
complete control. (Hear, hear). No matter what may
be the consequences of the action of this Parliament, no
matter what may be the consequences with respect to
future relations between Canada and England, or between
Canada and the United States, or between England and
the United States, no matter what may be the conse-
quences as to the existence of the present Government
of Canada, it must not be forgotten that the House has full
power to reject the clauses of the treaty if they please, and
maintain the right of Canada to exclude Americans from
in-shore fisheries, as if the treaty had never been made. (Hear,
hear). That reservation was fully provided for in the treaty. It
was made a portion of it — an essential portion, and, if it had
not been so made, the name of the Minister of Justice of

8

VOL II.

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

114

Canada would not have been attached to it. (Hear, hear).
That right has been reserved, and this Parliament has full
power to deal with the whole question. I will by-and-bye
speak more at length as to the part I took in the negotiations,
but I feel that I performed my duty — a grave and serious
duty, but still my duty — in attaching my signature to the
treaty as one of Her Majesty’s representatives and servants.
(Hear, hear).

“ Now, sir, let me enter into a short retrospect of occur-
rences which transpired for some years before arrangements
were entered into for negotiating the treaty. The Reci-
procity Treaty with the United States existed from 1854 to
1866, in which latter year it expired. Great exertions were
made by the Government of Canada, and a great desire was
expressed by the Parliament and people of Canada for a
renewal of that treaty. It was felt to have worked very
beneficially for Canada. It was felt to have worked also

to the advantage of the United States : and there was a
desire and a feeling that those growing interests which had
been constantly developing and increasing themselves during
the existence of the treaty would be greatly aided if it
were renewed and continued. I was a member of the Govern-
ment at that time with some of my honourable friends who
are still my colleagues, and we took every step in our power,
we spared no effort, we left no stone unturned, in order to gain
that object. The House will remember that for the purpose
of either effecting a renewal of the treaty, or, if we could not
obtain that, of arriving at the same object by meatns of concur-
rent legislation, my honourable friend the member for Sher-
brooke, at that time Finance Minister, and the present Lieu-
tenant-Governor of Ontario went to Washington on behalf of
the Government of Canada. It is a matter of history that all
their exertions failed, and after their failure, by the general

consent a consent in which I believe the people of Canada

were as one man — we came to the conclusion that it would be
humiliating to Canada to make any further exertions at
Washington or to do anything more in the way of pressing
for the renewal of that instrument, and the people of this

THE RESIDENCE OF REV. DR. WILLIAMSON, IN KINGSTON.

{Sir John s Headquarters during his recent Election .)

Washington Treaty Speech.

ii 7

country, with great energy, addressed themselves to find other
channels of trade, other means of developing and sustaining
our various industries, in which, I am happy to say, they have
been completely successful.

“ Immediately on the expiration of the treaty our right to
the exclusive use of the in-shore fisheries returned to us, and it
will be in remembrance of the House, that Her Majesty’s
Government desired us not to resume, at least for a year, that
right to the exclusion of American fishermen, and that the
prohibition of Americans fishing in those waters should not be
put in force either by Canada or the Maritime Provinces. All
the provinces, I believe, desired to accede to the suggestion, and
was pressed strongly on behalf of the late Province of Canada,
that it would be against our interests if, for a moment after
the treaty ceased, we allowed it to be supposed that American
fishermen had a right to come into our waters as before ; and
it was only because of the pressure of Her Majesty’s Govern-
ment and our desire to be in accord with that Government, as
well as because of our desire to carry with us the moral
support of Great Britain and the material assistance of
her fleet, that we assented, with great reluctance, to the
introduction of a system of licenses, for one year, at a nom-
inal fee or rate. This was done avowedly by us for the
purpose of asserting our right. No greater or stronger mode of
asserting a right, and obtaining the acknowledgement of it by
those who desire to enter our waters for the purpose of fishing
could be devised than by exacting payment for the permis-
sion, and therefore it was that we assented to the licensing
system. (Hear, hear).

“Although, in 1866, that system was commenced, it did
not come immediately into force. We had not then fitted out
a marine police force, for we were not altogether without
expectation that the mind of the Government of the United
States might take a different direction, and that there was a
probability of negotiations being renewed respecting the
revival of the Reciprocity Treaty ; and, therefore, although
the system was established, it was not rigidly put in force, and
no great exertion was made to seize trespassers who had not

1 18

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

taken out licenses. In the first year, however, a great number
of licenses were taken out, but when the fee was increased, so
as to render it a substantial recognition of our rights, the
payments became fewer and fewer, until at last it was found
that the vessels who took out licenses were the exception, and
that the great bulk of fishermen who entered our waters were
trespassers ; and in addition to the fact that our fisheries were
invaded, that we were receiving no consideration for the
liberty, and that our rights were invaded boldly and aggres-
sively, it was now stated by the American Government, or
members of the American Cabinet, that the renewal of the
Reciprocity Treaty was not only inexpedient, but unconsti-
tutional, and that no such renewal could or would be made.

“The Government of Canada then, in 1870, after confer-
ence with the Imperial Government, and after receiving the
promises of the Imperial Government that we should have
the support of their fleet in the protection of our just rights —
a promise which was faithfully carried out — prepared and
fitted out a sufficient force of marine police vessels to protect
our rights, and I am glad to believe that that policy was
perfectly successful. Great firmness was used, but, at the
same time, great discretion ; there was no harshness, and no
seizures were made of a doubtful character. No desire to
harass the foreign fishermen was evidenced, but, on the con-
trary, in any case in which there was doubt, the officers in
command of the seizing vessels reported to the head of their
department, and when the papers were laid before Gov-
ernment, they, in all cases, gave the offending parties the
benefit of the doubt. Still, as it would be remembered, some
of the fishermen made complaints, which complaints, although
unjust, I am sorry to say were in some instances made and
supported on oath, of harshness on the part of the cruisers,
and an attempt was made to agitate the public mind of the
United States against the people of Canada, and there was at
that time a feeling on the part of a large portion of the people
of the United States, which feeling, I am, however, happy to
say, has since disappeared, that the action of Canada was
unfriendly. Her Majesty’s Government were of course

Washington Treaty Speech.

i 19

appealed to by the authorities of the United States on all
these subjects, and the complaints were bandied from one Gov-
ernment to the other, and proved a source of great irritation.
While this feeling was being raised in the United States there
was, on the other hand, a feeling among our fisherman that
Dur rights were, to a very great degree, invaded.

“ In order to avoid the possibility of dispute ; in order to
avoid any appearance of harshness ; in order, while we were
supporting our fishery rights, to prevent any case of collision
between the Imperial Government and the United States, or
between the Canadian authorities and the United States, we
avoided making seizures within the bays, or in any way bring-
ing up the ‘ headland question/ This is very unsatisfactory,
because, as it was said by the fishermen, ‘ if we have these
rights, we should be protected in the exercise of them/ And
it was, therefore, well that that question should be settled at
once and for ever. In addition, however, to the question of
headlands, a new one had arisen of an exceedingly unpleasant
nature. By the wording of the Convention of 1818, foreign
fishermen were only allowed to enter our waters for the
purpose of procuring wood, water and shelter ; but they
claimed that they had a right, although fishing vessels, to
enter our ports for trading purposes ; and it was alleged by
our own fishermen that under pretence of trading, American
fishermen were in the habit of invading our fishing grounds,
and fishing in our waters. The Canadian Government thought
it, therefore, well to press, not only by correspondence, but by
a delegate who was a member of the Government, upon Her
Majesty’s Government the propriety of having that question
settled with the United States, and consequently my friend
and colleague, the Postmaster-General, went to England to
deal with that subject. The results of his mission are before
Parliament.

“ At the same time that he dealt with the question I have
just mentioned, he pressed upon the consideration of Her
Majesty’s Government the propriety of England making on
our behalf a demand on the United States Government for
reparation for the wrongs known as ‘ the Fenian Raids/

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The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

England agreed to press upon the United States both these
matters, and to ask that all the disputed questions relating to
the in-shore fisheries under the Convention of 1 8 1 8 should be
settled in some mode to be agreed upon between the two
nations, and also to press upon the United States the wrong
sustained by Canada at the hands of citizens of the United
States who had invaded our country.

‘ Before Her Majesty’s Government had actually, in
compliance with their promise, made any representation on
these two subjects to the United States Government, England
had been engaged in her own behalf in a controversy of a
very grave character. It was known that what was commonly
known as ‘ the Alabama claims ’ was a subject of dispute
between the two countries, involving the gravest consequences,
and that, hitherto, the results had been most unsatisfactory.
An attempt had been made to settle the question by what was
known as the Johnson-Clarendon Treaty, but that treaty had
been rejected by the United States authorities. So long as
this question remained unsettled between the two nations
there was no possibility of the old friendly relations that had
so long existed between them being restored, and England felt
that it was of the first importance to her that those amicable
relations should be restored. It was not only her desire to be
in the most friendly position towards a country which was so
closely associated with her by every tie, by common origin, by
common interest, by common language, but it was also her
interest to have every cloud removed between the two nations,
because she had reason to feel that her position with respect
to the other great powers of the world was greatly affected,
by the knowledge which those other nations had of the posi-
tion of affairs between the United States and herself. The
prestige of Great Britain as a great power was affected most
seriously by the absence of an entente cordiale between the two
nations. Two years ago, England was, as a matter of course
greatly interested in the great and serious questions w r hich
were then convulsing Europe, and was in danger of being
drawn by some complication into hostile relations with some
of the conflicting powers, and she felt — and I speak merely

Washington Treaty Speech.

1 2 I

what must be obvious to every honourable member in the
House — that she could not press or assert her opinion, with the
same freedom of action, so long as she was aware, and so long
as other nations were aware, that in case she should be unfor-
tunately placed in a state of hostility towards any nation what-
ever, the United States Government would be forced by the
United States people to press at that very time, when she
might be engaged in mortal coflict with another nation, for a
settlement of those Alabama claims. Hence, Mr. Speaker,
the great desire of England, in my opinion, that that great
question should be settled, and hence, also, the intermingling
of the particular questions relating to Canada with the larger
Imperial questions. And, sir, in my opinion, it was of greater
consequence to Canada than to England, at least of as great
consequence, that the Alabama question should be settled.
(Cheers).

“ Sir, England has promised to us, and we have all faith in
that promise, that in case of war, the whole force of the
Empire should be exerted in our defence. (Cheers). What
would have been the position of England, and what would
have been the position of Canada, if she had been called uport
to use her whole force to defend us, when engaged in conflict
elsewhere. Canada would, as a matter of course, in case of war
between England and the United States, be the battle ground.
We should be the sufferers, our country would be devastated,
our people slaughtered, and our property destroyed, and while
England would, I believe, under all circumstances, faithfully
perform her promise to the utmost (cheers), she would be
greatly impeded in carrying out her desire, if engaged else-
where. It was, therefore, as much the interest of this Domin-
ion as of England, that the Alabama and all other questions
that in any way threatened the disturbance of the peaceful
relations between the two countries should be settled and
adjusted ; and therefore, although to a considerable extent I
agree with the remarks that fell from the Minister of Finance
when he made his Budget speech, that looking at the subject
in a commercial point of view, it might have been better, in
the interest of Canada, that the fishery and Fenian questions

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

122

should have been settled free and apart from the Imperial
question.

“ I am pleased, and I was pleased, that the fact of Canada
having asked England to make these demands upon the
United States, gave an opportunity for re-opening the nego-
tiations with respect to the Alabama and other matters. It
was fortunate that we made that demand, for England could
not, with due self-respect, have initiated or re-opened the Ala-
bama question. She had concluded a treaty in London with the
representative of the United States, and this treaty having been
rejected by the Supreme Executive of the United States, could
not herself have re-opened negotiations on the subject. And,
therefore, it was fortunate, I say, for the peace of the Empire,
and for the peice of Canada, that we asked England
to make these demands upon the United States as it afforded
the opportunity of all these questions being made again
the subject of negotiation. The correspondence which is
before the House, between the Secretary of State of the
United States and the British Ambassador, Sir Edward
Thornton, has shown how that result was arrived at. The
invitation was made by the British Ambassador to consider
the Fishery Question. The United States Government, I
have no doubt, though, I do not know it as matter of fact,
by a quiet and friendly understanding between the two
powers, replied acceding to the request, on condition that
the larger and graver matters of dispute were also made a
matter of negotiation. Hence, it was sir, that the arrange-
ments were made under which the Treaty of Washington
was affected.

“ Sir, I have said that it was of the greatest consequence
to Canada, and to the future peace and prosperity of Canada,
that every cloud which threatened the peace of England
and the United States should be dispelled. I was struck
with an expression that was used to me by a distinguished
English statesman, that those powers in Europe who are
not so friendly to England heard, with dismay, that the
entente cordiale between the two nations was to be renewed
(hear, hear), and you have seen mentioned in the public press

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123

the active exertions that were made by one power, or by the
representative of one power, for the purpose of preventing
that happy result (hear, hear), and although Mr. Catacazy
has been disavowed by the Government of Russia, in the
same way as poor Vicovich was on a previous occasion when
he was the organ of Russia in the East. I cannot but feel
that he was punished only because his zeal outran his discre-
tion. I can vouch for his active exertions for the purpose
of preventing this Treaty of Washington receiving the sanc-
tion of the Senate of the United States. (Hear, hear). While
England, therefore, was strongly interested in the settlement
of these questions both for herself and for Canada, the United
States were also interested and made overtures in a most
friendly spirit. I believe that there was a real desire among
the people of the United States to be friendly towards Eng-
land. I believe that the feeling of irritation, which had been
caused by the unhappy events of the war, and by the escape
of the Alabama had almost entirely disappeared, and I hope
and believe that the people of the United States were then,
and are now strongly in favour of establishing permanently
a friendly feeling between the two nations.

“ Then, besides, they had a further interest in settling
all matters in dispute. So long as the United States and
England were not on friendly terms, so long as they were
standing aloof from each other, it affected very considerably
the credit of the United States securities in Europe. Not
only the funds of the United States as a whole, but the
securities of every State of the Union, and of all American
enterprises seeking the markets of the world were injuriously
affected by the unsatisfactory relations between the two
countries. They were, therefore, prepared to meet each other
in this negotiation.

“ To proceed with the history of the circumstances im-
mediately preceding the formation of the Joint High Com-
mission at Washington, I will state that on February 1,
1871, a communication was made to me by His Excel-
lency, the Governor-General, on behalf of Her Majesty’s
Government, asking me, in case there was going to be a

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The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

Joint Commission to settle all questions between England
and the United States, whether I would act as a member
of that Commission. I give the date because it has been
asked for. The communication was verbal, and founded
upon a telegraphic communication to His Excellency which
cannot be printed, being of a nature which the House
can readily understand, ought not properly to be laid
before this House. This communication was, in the first
place, for myself alone, I was not allowed to mention it
for the time to any one else. My reply was that I would
be greatly embarrassed by any injunction of secrecy as
regards my colleagues, and that under no circumstances would
I accept the position without their consent. I subsequently
received permission to communicate it to them, and I received
their consent to act upon the Commission. Before accepting,
however, I took occasion, for my own information and satis-
faction, to ask through His Excellency what points of agree-
ment and of difference existed between England and Canada
with regard to the Fisheries. The answer was a very short one,
by cable, and it was satisfactory to myself. It was afterwards
extended in the despatch of February 16, 1871. It shortly
stated that, of course, it was impossible for Her Majesty’s
Government to pledge themselves to any forgone conclusion ;
that, as it was a matter of negotiation, it was, of course, out of
the question on the part of either Government to give cast
iron instructions to their representatives, because that would
do away with every idea of a negotiation. But the despatch
went on to say that Her Majesty’s Government conidered
our right to the in-shore fisheries beyond dispute ; that they
also believed that our claims as to the headlands were just,
but that those claims might properly be a matter of com-
promise. It went on further to state that Her Majesty’s
Government believed that, as a matter of strict right we could
exclude the American fishermen entering our ports for pur-
poses of trade and commerce, and that they could only enter
our waters, in the language of the treaty, for wood, water and
shelter ; but that this, in the opinion of Her Majesty’s Govern-
ment, would be a harsh construction of the treaty and might

Washington Treaty Speech.

125

properly be a subject for compromise. On reading that
despatch, I could have no difficulty, as a member of the
Canadian Government, in accepting the position, to which my
colleagues assented, of plenipotentiary to Washington, because,
as a matter of law, our view of those three points was acknow-
ledged to be correct, and the subject was therefore devoid of
any embarrassment, from the fact of Canadians setting up pre-
tensions which Her Majesty’s Government could not support.
(Hear, hear).

“ When the proposition was first made to me, I must say
that I felt considerable embarrassment and great reluctance
to become a member of the Commission. I pointed out
to my colleagues that I was to be one only of five, that I was
in a position of being over-ruled continually in our discussions,
and that I could not by any possibility bring due weight from
my isolated position. I felt also that I would not receive from
those who were politically opposed to me in Canada, that sup-
port which an officer going abroad on behalf of his country
generally received, and had a right to expect. (Hear, hear).
I knew that I would be made a mark of attack, and this
House well knows that my anticipations have been verified. I
knew that I would not get fair play. (Hear, hear). I knew
that the same policy that had been carried out towards me for
years and years would continue, and therefore it was a matter
of grave consideration for myself, whether to accept the
appointment or not. Sir, a sense of duty prevailed (cheers),
and my colleagues pressed upon me also that I would be
wanting in my duty to my country if I declined the appoint-
ment ; that, if from a fear of the consequences, from a fear
that I would sacrifice the position I held in the opinions of
the people of Canada, I should shirk the duty, I would be
unworthy of the confidence that I had received so long
from a large portion of the people of Canada. (Cheers).
What, said my colleagues, would be said if, in consequence of
your refusal, Canada was not represented, and her interests in
these matters allowed to go by default ? England, after
having offered that position to the first minister, and it having
been refused by him, would have been quite at liberty to have

126

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

proceeded with the commission and the settlement of all these
questions without Canada being represented on the commis-
sion, and those very men who attack me now for having been
there and taken a certain course, would have been just as loud
in their complaints, and just as bitter in their attacks, because
I had neglected the interests of Canada and refused the
responsibility of asserting the rights of Canada at Washington.
(Cheers). Sir, knowing, as I said before, what the conse-
quences would be to myself of accepting that office, and fore-
seeing the attacks that would be made upon me, I addressed
a letter to His Excellency the Governor-General, informing
him of the great difficulties of my position, and that it was
only from a sense of duty that I accepted the position.
(Cheers).

“ On proceeding to Washington I found a general desire
among the two branches into which the Joint High Commis-
sion divided itself, an equal desire, I should say, on the part
of the United States Commissioners as well as of the British
Commissioners, that all questions should be settled so far as
the two Governments could do so. There was a special desire
that there should be a settlement It was very easy for the
commissioners, or the Government through their representa-
tives, to make a treaty, but in the United States there is a
power above and beyond the Government, the Senate of the
United States, which had to be considered. It was felt that a
second rejection of the treaty would be most disastrous for the
future of both nations ; that it would be a solemn declaration
that there was no peaceable solution of the question between
the two nations. An American statesman said to me, ‘ the
rejection of the treaty now means war.’ Not war to-morrow
or at any given period, but war whenever ' England happened
to be engaged in other troubles, and attacked from other
sources. (Hear, hear).

“You may therefore imagine, Mr. Speaker, and this House
may well imagine, the solemn considerations pressing upon
my mind, as well as upon the minds of my colleagues in Can-
ada, with whom I was in daily communication, if by any unwise
course, or from any rigid or pre-conceived opinions, we should

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127

risk the destruction for ever of all hope of a peaceable solution
of the difficulties between the two kindred nations. (Cheers).
Still, sir, I did not forget that I was their chosen representa-
tive. I could not ignore the fact that I was selected a mem-
ber of that commission from my acquaintance with Canadian
politics. I had continually before me, not only the Imperial
question, but the interests of the Dominion of Canada, which
I was there espeoially to represent, and the difficulty of my
position was, that if I gave undue prominence to the interests
of Canada, I might justly be held, in England, to be taking
a purely colonial and selfish view, regardless of the interests
of the Empire as a whole, and the interests of Canada as a
portion of the Empire, and, on the other hand, if I kept my
eye solely on Imperial considerations, I might be held as
neglecting my especial duty towards this my country, Canada.
It was a difficult position, as the House will believe, a position
that pressed upon me with great weight and severity at the
time, and it has not been diminished in any way since I have
returned, except by the cordial support of my colleagues, and
I believe also my friends in this House. (Cheers).

“ In order to show that I did not for a moment forget
that I was there to represent the interests of Canada, I
must ask you to look at the despatch of February 16,
1871, which reached me at Washington a few days after I
arrived there — it will be seen that Lord Kimberly used this
expression, ‘ as at present advised Her Majesty’s Government
are of opinion that the right of Canada to exclude Americans
from fishing in the waters within the limits of three marine
miles of the coast, is beyond dispute, and can only be ceded
for an adequate consideration. Should this consideration take
the form of a money payment, it appears to Her Majesty’s
Government that such an arrangement would be more likely to
work well than if any conditions were annexed to the exercise
of the privilege of fishing within the Canadian waters.’ Hav-
ing read that despatch, and the suggestion that an arrange-
ment might be made on the basis of a money payment, and
there being an absence of any statement that such an
arrangement would only be made with the consent of Canada,

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The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

I thought it well to communicate with my colleagues at
Ottawa, and although we had received again and again,
assurances from Her Majesty’s Government that those rights
would not be affected, given away, or ceded, without our
consent, it was thought advisable, in consequence of the
omission of all reference to the necessity of Canada’s assent
being obtained to any monetary arrangement, to communi-
cate by cable that Canada considered the Canadian Fisheries
to be her property, and they could not be sold without her
consent.

“ That communication was made by the Canadian Govern-
ment on March ioth, and of that Government I was a member,
and not only did that communication proceed from the
Canadian Government to England, giving them fair notice that
the Canadian Government, of which I was a member, would
insist upon the right of dealing with her own fisheries, but I
took occasion to press upon the head of the British Commis-
sion at Washington, that my own individual opinion, as
representing Canada, should be laid before Her Majesty’s
Government. The answer that came back at once by cable
was extended in full in the despatch of March 17, 1871 ; and
it was most satisfactory, as it stated that Her Majesty’s
Government had never any intention of advising Her Majesty
to part with those fisheries without the consent of Canada.
Armed with this I felt that I was relieved of a considerable
amount of my embarrassment. I felt that no matter what
arrangements might be made, no matter whether I was
out-voted by my colleagues on the Commission, or what
instructions might be given by Her Majesty’s Government,
the interests of Canada were safe, because they were in her
own hands, and reserved for her own decision.

“ Now, Mr. Speaker, it must not be supposed that this was
not a substantial concession on the part of Her Majesty’s
Government. It is true that Lord Kimberley stated in his
despatch of March 17th, that ‘when the reciprocity treaty was
concluded, the Acts of the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
Legislatures, relating to the Fisheries were suspended by Acts
of those Legislatures, and the Fishery rights of Canada are

Washington Treaty Speech.

29

now under the protection of a Canadian Act of Parliament,
the repeal of which would be necessary in case of the
cession of those rights to any foreign powers.’ It is
true, in one sense of the word, but it is also true that if
Her Majesty, in the exercise of her power, had chosen
to make a treaty with the United States, ceding not only
those rights, but ceding the very land over which those
waters flow, that treaty between England and the United
States would have been binding, and the United States would
have held England to it. No matter how unjust to Canada,
after all her previous promises, still that treaty would be a
valid and obligatory treaty between England and the United
States, and the latter would have had the right to enforce its
provisions, override any provincial laws and ordinances, and
take possession of our waters and rights. It would have been
a great wrong, but the consequences would have been the loss,
practically, of our rights for ever, and so it was satisfactory
that it should be settled, as it has been settled, without a
doubt appearing upon the records of the conference at Wash-
ington. Now the recognition of the proprietary right of
Canada in her fisheries forms a portion of the State papers of
both countries. Now the rights of Canada to those fisheries
are beyond dispute, and it is finally established that England
cannot, and will not, under any circumstances whatever, cede
those fisheries without the consent of Canada. So that in any
future arrangement between Canada and England, or England
and the United States, the rights of Canada will be respected,
as it is conceded beyond dispute, that England has not the
power to deprive Canada of them. We may now rest certain
that for all time to come England will not, without our consent,
make any cession of these interests.

“ To come to the various subjects which interest Canada
more particularly. I will address myself to them in detail,
and first, I will consider the question of most importance to
us, the one on which we are now specially asked to legislate,
that which interests Canada as a whole most particularly, and
which interests the Maritime provinces especially. I mean
the articles of the treaty with respect to our fishery rights. I

VOL II. Q

130

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

would in the first place say that the protocols which accom-
pany the treaty, and which are in the hands of every member
do not give chronologically an every day account of the trans-
actions of the Conference, although as a general rule, I believe,
the protocols of such Conferences are kept from day to day,
but it was thought better to depart from the rule on this
occasion, and only to record the conclusions arrived at; there-
fore, while the protocols substantially contain the result of
the negotiations ended in the treaty, they must not be looked
upon as chronological details of facts and incidents as they
occurred. I say so because the protocol which relates more
especially to the fisheries would lead one to suppose that at
the first meeting, and without previous discussion the British
Commissioners stated ‘ that they were prepared to discuss the
question of the fisheries, either in detail or generally, so as
either to enter into an examination of the respective rights of
the two countries under the treaty of 1 8 1 8, and the general
law of nations, or to approach at once the settlement of the
question on a comprehensive basis.’ Now the fact is, that it
was found by the British Commissioners when they arrived at
Washington and had an opportunity of ascertaining the feeling
that prevailed at that time, not only among the United States
Commissioners, but among the public men of the United
States whom they met there, and from their communications
with other sources of information, that the feeling was univer-
sal that all questions should be settled beyond the possibility
of dispute in the future, and more especially that if, by any
possibility, a solution of the difficulty respecting the fisheries
could be arrived at, or a satisfactory arrangement made by
which the fishery question could be placed in abeyance as in
1854, it would be to the advantage of both nations.

“ It must be remembered that the Commission sat in 1871,
that the exclusion of American fishermen from our waters was
enforced and kept up during the whole of 1870, and that great
and loud, though I believe unfounded, complaints had been
made that American fishing vessels had been illegally seized,
although they had not trespassed upon our waters. Persons
interested had been using every effort to arouse and stimulate

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131

the minds of the people of the United States against Canada
and the Canadian authorities, and it was felt and expressed
that it would be a great bar to the chance of the treaty being
accepted by the United States, if one of the causes of irrita-
tion, which had been occurring a few months before should be
allowed to remain unsettled ; collisions would occur between
American fishermen claiming certain rights, and Canadians
resisting those claims, that thereby unfriendly feelings would
be aroused, and all the good which might be effected by the
treaty would be destroyed, by quarrels between man and man
engaged on the fishing grounds.

“ This feeling prevailed, and I, as a Canadian, knowing
that the people of Canada desired, and had always expressed
a wish to enter into the most cordial reciprocal trade arrange-
ments with the United States, so stated to the British Com-
missioners, and they had no hesitation, on being invited to do
so, in stating that they would desire by all means to remove
every cause of dissension respecting these fisheries by the
restoration of the old Reciprocity Treaty of 1854. An attempt
was made in 1865 by the honourable member for Sherbrooke
(Sir A. T. Galt) and Mr. Howland, on behalf of Canada, to
renew that treaty, but failed, because the circumstances of the
United States in 1865 were very different from what they were
in 1854, and it appeared out of the question, and impossible,
for the United States to agree to a treaty with exactly the
same provisions and of exactly the same nature as that of
1854. So the British Commissioners, believing that a treaty
similar in detail to that of 1854 could not be obtained, urged
that one conceived in the same spirit, but adapted to the
altered circumstances of the two countries, should be adopted,
and this view was strongly pressed upon the Joint Commis-
sion. This will appear from the protocol referring to this
branch of the treaty. It will also appear from the protocol
that the United States Commissioners stated that the
Reciprocity Treaty was out of the question, that it could not
be accepted without being submitted to both branches of
Congress, and there was not the slightest possibility of
Congress passing such an Act, and that the agreement by the

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The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

two Governments to a treaty, including provisions similar in
spirit to the treaty of 1854, would only ensure the rejection of
the treaty by the Senate, and, therefore, that some other
solution must be found. I believe that the United States
Commissioners were candid and were accurate in their view of
the situation. I believe that had the treaty contained all the
provisions, or the essential provisions of the treaty of 1854,
they would have ensured its rejection by the Senate.

“ When I speak of the conferences that were held on the
fisheries I would state, for the information of those members
of the House who may be unacquainted with the usage in such
matters, that the Commissioners did not act at the discussions
individually. The conference was composed of two units, the
British Commission and the United States Commission. If a
question arose in conference, on which either of the two parties,
the British or American branch, desired to consult together,
they retired, and on their return expressed their views as
a whole, without reference to the individual opinions of the
Commissioners. As an individual member of the British
Commission, and on behalf of Canada, when it was found that
we could not obtain a renewal of the Reciprocity Treaty, I
urged upon my English colleagues that the Canadians should
be allowed to retain the exclusive enjoyment of the in-shore
fisheries, and that means should be used to arrive in some
way or other at a settlement of the disputed questions in
relation to the fisheries, so as to settle the headland question
and the other one relating to trading in our ports by Amer-
ican fishermen, and I would have been well satisfied, acting on
behalf of the Canadian Government, if that course had been
adopted by the Imperial Government ; but Her Majesty’s
Government felt and so instructed her Commissioners, and it
was so felt by the United States Commissioners, that the
leaving of the chance of collision between the American
fishermen and the Canadian fishermen a matter of possibility,
would destroy or greatly prejudice the great object of the
negotiations that were to restore the amicable relations and
friendly feelings between the two nations, and therefore Her
Majesty’s Government pressed that these questions should be

Washington Treaty Speech.

33

allowed to remain in abeyance, and that some other settle-
ment in the way of compensation to Canada should be found.

“ The protocol shows, Mr. Speaker, that the United States
Government, through their Commissioners, made a consider-
able advance, or at least some advance, in the direction of
Reciprocity, because they offered to exchange for our in-shore
fisheries in the first place, the right to fish in their waters
whatever that might be worth, and they offered to admit
Canadian coal, salt, fish, and — after 1874 — lumber. They
offered Reciprocity in these articles. On behalf of Canada
the British Commissioners said that they did not consider
that that was a fair equivalent. (Hear, hear). It is not
necessary that I should enter into all the discussions and
arguments on that point, but it was pointed out by the British
Commissioners that already a measure had passed one branch
of the Legislature of the United States, making coal and
salt free, and stood ready to be passed by the other branch,
the Senate. It was believed at that time that the American
Congress for its own purpose, and in the interest of the Ameri-
can people, was about to take the duty off these articles,
and therefore the remission could not be considered as in
any way a compensation, as Congress was going to take off
the duty whether there was a treaty or not. Then as regards
the duty on lumber which was offered to be taken off in 1874
was pointed out that nearly a third of the whole of the time
for which the treaty was proposed to exist would expire
before the duty would be taken off our lumber. The British
Commissioners urged that under those circumstances the
offer could not be considered as a fair one, and that Canada
had a fair right to demand compensation over and above
these proposed reciprocal arrangements.

“ Before that proposition was made I was in communica-
tion with my colleagues. The Canadian Government were
exceedingly anxious that the original object should be carried
out, that if we could not get reciprocity as it was in 1854
that we should be allowed to retain our fisheries and that
the questions in dispute should be settled ; but Her Majesty’s
Government taking the strong ground that their acceding to

134

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

our wishes would be equivalent to an abandonment of carry-
ing the treaty into effect, the Canadian Government reluct-
antly said that from a desire to meet Her Majesty’s Govern-
ment’s views as much as possible, and not to allow it to be
felt in England, that from a selfish desire to obtain all we
desired we had frustrated the efforts of Her Majesty’s Govern-
ment to secure peace, we consented that the proposition I
have mentioned should be made, and so that proposition
was made to the United States.

“ Although I do not know it as a matter of certainty, I
have reason to believe that, if it had not been for the action of
this Legislature last session, we would now be passing an Act
for the purpose of ratifying a treaty in which coal, salt, and
lumber from Canada would be received into the United States
free of duty. (Hear, hear). I have reason to believe that,
had it not been for the interposition of this Legislature, and I
speak now of political friends as well as foes, those terms
which were offered by the United States would have been a
portion of the treaty instead of its standing as it does now.
(Applause). I will tell the House why I say so. The offer
was made early by the United States Government. The
'answer made by the British Commissioners was that, under
the circumstances, it was not a fair and adequate compensa-
tion for the privileges that were asked, and the British Com-
missioners, at the suggestion of the Canadian Government,
referred the question to Her Majesty’s Government, whether
they had not a right, in addition to this offer of the United
States, to expect a pecuniary compensation ; that pecuniary
compensation to be settled in some way or other. That took
place on March 25, 1871. On March 25th, I think the final
proposition was made by the United States Government, and
on March 22nd, only three days before, the resolution carried in
this House by which the duty was taken off coal and salt and
the other articles mentioned. Before that resolution was
carried here no feeling was expressed in the United States
against the taking off the duty on Canadian coal and salt im-
ported into the United States ; no one raised any difficulty
about it. I am as well satisfied as I can be of any thing which

Washington Treaty Speech.

35

I did not see occur, that the admission of Canadian coal and
salt into the United States would have been placed in the
treaty if it had not been for the action of this Legislature.

“ On March 25th that offer was made, and it was referred
to England. The English Government stated that they quite
agreed in the opinion that, in addition to that offer, there
should be compensation in money, and then, on April 17th,
the American Commissioners withdrew, as they had a right to
do, their offer altogether. And why did they withdraw the
offer altogether ? One of the commissioners in conversation
said to me : ‘ I am quite surprised to find the opposition that
has sprung up to the admission of Canadian coal and salt
into our market. I was quite unprepared for the feeling that
is exhibited/ I knew right well what the reason was. The
monopolists having the control of American coal in Pennsyl-
vania, and salt in New York, so long as the treaty would open
to them the markets in Canada for their products, were willing
that it should carry, because they would have the advantage
of both markets, but when the duty was taken off in Canada,
when you had opened our market to them, when they had
the whole control of their own market, and free access to ours,
whether for coal or salt, the monopolists brought down all
their energies upon their friends in Congress, and through
them a pressure on the American Government for the purpose
of preventing the admission of Canadian coal and salt into
the American market, and from that, I have no doubt, came
the withdrawal by the American Commissioners of their
offer. When my honourable friend from Bothwell (Mr. Mills)
said last session, ‘there goes the Canadian National Policy/
he was little aware of the consequences of the reckless course
he had taken. (Hear, hear). Honourable gentlemen may
laugh, but they will find it no laughing matter. The people of
Canada, both east and west, will hold to strict account those
who acted so unpatriotically in this matter.

‘‘Under these circumstances, Mr. Speaker, I felt myself
powerless, and when the American Commissioners made their
last offer, which is now in the treaty, offering reciprocity in
fisheries, that Canadians should fish in American waters, and

36 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

that Americans should fish in Canadian waters, and that fish
and fish oil should be reciprocally free, and that if on arbitra-
tion it were found that the bargain was an unjust one to
Canada, and Canada did not receive sufficient compensation
for her fisheries by that arrangement, it was remitted to Her
Majesty’s Government to say what should be done, and as
will be seen by the the last sentence of the protocol : ‘ The
subject was further discussed in the Conferences of April 18th
and 19th, and the British Commissioners having referred the
last proposal to the Government, and received instructions
to accept it, the treaty articles, 18 to 25, were agreed to at the
Conference on April 23rd.’ Thus then it occurred that these
articles from 18 to 25 are portions of the treaty. One of these
articles reserves to Canada the right of adoption or rejection
and it is for this Parliament now to say whether under all the
circumstances it should ratify or reject them.

“ The papers that have been laid before the House show
what was the opinion of the Canadian Government. Under
present circumstances of that question, the Canadian Govern-
ment believe that it is for the interest of Canada to accept the
treaty, to ratify it by legislation. (Hear, hear). They be-
lieve it is for the interest of Canada to accept it, and they
are more inclined to believe it from the fact which I must
say has surprised me, and surprised my colleagues, and has
surprised the country — that the portion of the treaty which
was supposed to be most unpopular and most prejudicial to
the interests of the Maritime Provinces has proved to
be the least unpopular. (Hear, hear). Sir, I could not
have anticipated that the American fishermen, who were
offered the advantages of fishing in our waters would be to a
man, opposed to the treaty as inflicting upon them a great
injury. I could not have anticipated that the fishermen of
the Maritime Provinces, who, at first expressed hostility,
would now, with a few exceptions, be anxious for its adoption.
(Hear, hear).

“In viewing these articles of the treaty, I would call the
consideration of the House to the fact that their scope and
aim have been greatly misrepresented by that portion of the

Washington Treaty Speech.

Canadian press which is opposed to the present Govern-
ment. It has been alleged to be an ignominious sale of the
property of Canada, a bartering away of the territorial rights
of this country for money. Sir, no allegation could be more
utterly unfounded than this. (Hear, hear). It is no more a
transfer and sale of the territorial rights of Canada than was
the treaty of 1854. The very basis of this treaty is recipro-
city. (Hear, hear). To be sure it does not go as far and
embrace as many articles as the treaty of 1852. I am sorry for
it. I fought hard that it should be so, but the terms of this
treaty are terms of reciprocity, and the very first clause ought
to be sufficient evidence upon that point, for it declares that
Canadians shall have the same right to fish in American
waters, that Americans will have under the treaty to fish in
Canadian waters. True it may be said that our fisheries
are more valuable than theirs, but that does not effect the
principle. The principle is this — that we were trying to make
a reciprocity arrangement and going as far in the direction
of reciprocity as possible. The principle is the same in each
case, and as regards the treaty that has been negotiated it
is not confined to reciprocity in the use of the in-shore fisheries
of the two countries. It provides that the products of the
fisheries of the two nations, fish oil as well as fish, shall be
interchanged free. The only departure from the principle
of reciprocity in the present treaty is the provision, that
if it shall be found that Canada had made a bad bargain
and had not received a fair compensation for what she gave ;
if it shall be found that while there was reciprocity as to
the enjoyment of rights and privileges, there was not true
reciprocity in value, then the difference in value should be
ascertained and paid to this country. (Hear, hear). Now,
if there is anything approaching to the dishonourable and
the degrading in these proposals I do not know the meaning
of those terms. (Hear, hear). This provision may not be
one that will meet the acceptance of the country, but I say
that the manner in which it has been characterized, is a
wilful and deliberate use of language which the parties
employing it did not believe at the time to be accurate, and

138 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

to which they resorted for political reasons, and in order
to create misapprehensions in the country. Sir, there was
no humiliation. Canada would not tolerate an act of humilia-
tion on the part of its Government. England would neither
advise nor permit one of her faithful colonies to be degraded
and cast down. (Cheers).

“ But it is said that the American fisheries are of no
value to us. They are not as valuable as ours it is true, but
still they have a substantial value for us in this way — that
the exclusion of Canadian fishermen from the American coast
fisheries would have been a loss to the fishing interests of
the Maritime Provinces, and I will tell you why. It is quite
true that the mackerel fishery, which is the most valuable
fishery on these coasts, belongs chiefly to Canada, and that
the mackerel of the American coast is far inferior in every
respect to the Canadian fish, but it is also true that in
American waters, the favourite bait to catch the mackerel
with, known as the menhadden is found, and it is so much
the favourite bait that, one fishing vessel having this bait
on board, will draw a whole school of mackerel in the very
face of vessels having an inferior bait. Now the value of
the privilege of entering American waters for catching that
bait is very great. If Canadian fishermen were excluded
from American waters, by any combination among American
fishermen or by any Act of Congress, they might be deprived
of getting a single ounce of the bait. American fishermen
might combine for that object, or a law might be passed by
Congress forbidding the exportation of menhadden ; but by
the provision made in the treaty, Canadian fishermen are
allowed to enter into American waters to procure the bait,
and the consequences of that is, that no such combination can
exist and Canadians can purchase the bait and be able to fish
on equal terms with the Americans. (Hear, hear).

“ It is thus seen, sir, that this Reciprocity Treaty is not a
mere matter of sentiment — it is a most valuable privilege,
which is not to be neglected, despised, or sneered at. With
respect to the language of these articles some questions have
been raised and placed on the paper, and I have asked the

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE MARQUIS OF LORNE, K.T., G.C.M.G.
Governor-General of Canada, November 1878, to October, i88j.

Washington Treaty Speech.

141

honourable gentlemen who were about to put them, to post-
pone doing so ; and I now warn honourable members, and I
do it with the most sincere desire to protect the interests
of Canada, if' this treaty becomes a treaty, and we ratify the
fishery articles — I warn them not to raise questions which
otherwise might not be raised. I think, Mr. Speaker, there is
no greater instance in which a wise discretion can be used,
than in not suggesting any doubts. With respect, however, t©
the question which was put by the honourable member for the
county of Charlotte — and it is a question which might well be
put, and which requires some answer — I would state to that
honourable gentleman, and I think he will be satisfied with
the answer, that the Treaty of 1871, in the matter his ques-
tions refers to, is larger and wider in its provisions in favour of
Canada than was the Treaty of 1854, and that under the
Treaty of 1854, no question was raised as to the exact locality
of the catch, but all fish brought to the United States market
by Canadian vessels were free. I say this advisedly, and I
will discuss it with the honourable gentleman whenever he
may choose to give me the opportunity. The same practice
will, I have no doubt, be continued under the Treaty of 1871,
unless the people of Canada themselves raise the objection.
The warning I have just now expressed, I am sure the House
will take in the spirit in which it is intended. No honourable
member will, of course, be prevented from exercising his own
discretion, but I felt it my duty to call the attention of
the House to the necessity of great prudence in not raising
needlessly, doubts as to the terms of the Treaty.

“It will be remembered that we have not given all our
fisheries away, the treaty only applies to the fisheries of the
old Province of Canada, and in order that the area should not
be widened, it is provided that it shall only apply to the
fisheries of Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince
Edward Island, so that the treaty does not allow the Amer-
icans to have access to the Pacific coast fisheries, nor yet to
the inexhaustible and priceless fisheries of the Hudson’s Bay.
Those are great sources of revenue yet undeveloped, but after
the treaty is ratified, they will develop rapidly, and in twelve

I 4 2

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

years from now, when the two nations sit down to reconsider
the circumstances, and readjust the treaty, it will be found
that other and great wealth will be at the disposal of the
Dominion.

“ I may be asked, though I have not seen that the
point has excited any observation, why were not the products
of the lake fisheries laid open to both nations, and in reply I
may say that these fisheries were excepted at my instance.
The Canadian fisheries on the north shores of the great lakes
are most valuable. By a judicious system of preservation and
protection we have greatly increased that source of wealth. It
is also known that from a concurrence of circumstances and
from situation the fisheries on the south shores are not nearly
so valuable as ours, and it therefore appeared that if we once
allowed the American fishermen to have admission to our
waters, with their various engines of destruction, all the care
taken for many years to cultivate that source of wealth would
be disturbed, injured, and prejudiced, and there would be no
end of quarrels and dissatisfaction in our narrow waters, and
no real reciprocity, and, therefore, that Canada would be much
better off by preserving her own Inland Lake Fisheries to her
herself, and have no right to enter the American market with
the products of those fisheries. This was the reason why the
lake fisheries were not included in this arrangement.

“ Now, sir, under the present circumstances of the case, the
Canadian Government have decided to press upon this House
the policy of accepting this treaty and ratifying the Fishery
Articles. I may be liable to the charge of injuring our case in
discussing the advantages of the arrangement, because every
word used by me may be quoted and used as evidence against
us hereafter. The statement has been so thrown broadcast
that the arrangement is a bad one for Canada, that in order to
show to this House and the country that it is one that can be
accepted, one is obliged to run the risk of his language being
used before the Commissioners to settle the amount of
compensation as an evidence of the value of the treaty to us.

“ It seems to me that in looking at the treaty in a com-
mercial point of view, and looking at the question whether it

Washington Treaty Speech.

i43

is right to accept the articles, we have to consider that interest
which is most peculiarly first affected. Now, unless I am
greatly misinformed the fishing interests with one or two
exceptions for local reasons in Nova Scotia, are altogether in
favour of the treaty. (Hear, hear). They are anxious to get
admission of their fish into the American market ; they would
view with sorrow any action of this House which would
exclude them from that market ; they look forward with
increasing confidence to a large development of their trade,
and of that great industry, and I say that being the case, if
it be to the interest of the fishermen, and for the advantage of
that branch of the national industry, setting aside all other
considerations, we ought not wilfully to injure that interest.
What is the fact of the case as it stands now ? The only
market in the world for the Canadian number one mackerel
is the United States. That is their only market, and they are
practically excluded from it by the present duty. The
consequence of that duty is that they are at the mercy of the
American fishermen ; they are made the hewers of wood and
drawers of water for the Americans. They are obliged to sell
their fish at the American’s own price. The American fisher-
men purchase their fish at a nominal value, and control the
American market. The great profits of the trade are handed
over to the American fishermen or the American merchants
engaged in the trade, and they profit to the loss of our own
people. Let any one go down the St. Lawrence on a summer
trip, as many of us do, and call from the deck of the steamer
to a fisherman in his boat and see for what a nominal price
you can secure the whole of his catch, and that is from the
absence of a market, and from the fact of the Canadian
fishermen being completely under the control of the
foreigner.

“ With the duty off Canadian fish, the Canadian fisherman
may send his fish at the right time, when he can obtain the
best price, to the American market, and thus be the means of
opening a profitable trade with the United States, in exchange.
If, therefore, it is for the advantage of the Maritime Provinces,
including that portion of Quebec, which is also largely inter-

144

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

ested in the fisheries, that this treaty should be ratified, and
that this great market should be opened to them, on what
ground should we deprive them of this right ? Is it not a
selfish argument, that the fisheries can be used as a lever in
order to gain reciprocity in flour, wheat and other cereals ?
Are you to shut them off from this great market in order that
you may coerce the United States into giving you an exten-
sion of the reciprocal principle ? Why, Mr. Speaker, if it were
a valid argument, it would be a selfish one. What would be
said by the people of Ontario if the United States had offered,
for their own purposes, to admit Canadian grains free, and
Nova Scotia had objected, saying, ‘ No, you shall not have
that market ; you must be deprived of that market for ever,
unless we can take in our fish also ; you must lose all that
great advantage until we can get a market for our fish ’ ?
Apply the argument in this way and you will see how selfish
it is.

“ But the argument has no foundation, no basis of fact, and
I will show this House how. In 1854, by a strict and rigid
observance of the principle of exclusion, the American fisher-
men were driven out of those waters. At that time the
United States was free from debt, and from taxation, and they
had large capital invested in their fisheries. Our fisheries
were then in their infancy. They were a £ feeble * people
just beginning as fishermen, with little capital and little
skill, and their operations were very restricted. I do not
speak disparagingly, but in comparison with the fishermen of
the United States there was an absence of capital and skill.
The United States were free from taxation, they had this
capital and skill, and all they wanted was our Canadian waters
in which to invest that capital and exercise that skill, but how
is it altered now ? Our fisheries are now no lever by which
to obtain reciprocity in grain. What do the United States
care for our fisheries ? The American fishermen are opposed to
the treaty. Those interested in the fisheries are sending petf
tion after petition to the United States Government and Com
gress praying that the treaty may be rejected. They say they
do not want to come into our waters. The United States Gov»

Washington Treaty Speech.

i45

ernment have gone into this treaty with every desire to settle
all possible sources of difficulty, their fishermen complain
that they will suffer by it, but the United States Government
desire to meet us face to face, hand to hand, heart to heart,
and to have an amicable settlement of all disputes. They
know that they are not making political friends or gaining
political strength because nearly the whole of the interest most
affected by the fishery articles is against the treaty. But they
desire that the ill feelings which arose during the civil war,
and from the Alabama case, should be forgotten. A feeling
of friendship has grown up between the nations, and it can be
no other desire than to foster and encourage that feeling
which dictates the agreeing to these particular articles. The
United States Government will simply say — well, if you do
not like these arrangements reject them — and the consequence
will be on your own head if this friendship so auspiciously
commenced is at any time broken by unhappy collisions in
your waters.”

VOL II.

10

CHAPTER XXIX.

Sir John Macdonald’s speech on the Washington Treaty continued — The validity
of former treaties with the United States considered — Judge Pomeroy’s
opinion— Disputes set at rest by the Washington Treaty — The free naviga-
tion of the St. Lawrence — Opinion of Mr. Phillimore — Canada retains
sole control of the canals — Free navigation of Alaska rivers — The St. Clair
flats — The bonding system — The San Juan boundary — The Fenian raid
claims — Not included in the questions submitted — England’s responsibility
— A guaranteed loan — The great importance of accepting the Treaty.

u T AM afraid I must apologize to the House for the unin-
X teresting manner in which I have laid the subject before
the House so far. I was showing as well as I could my opinion,
and my reasons for that opinion, that under the circumstances
the treaty, although it is not what we desired, and although it
is not what I pressed for, ought to be accepted. I shall not
pursue that branch of the subject to greater length, as during
the discussion of the measure I have no doubt that I shall
have again an opportunity to reurge these and further views
on the same subject as they may occur to me, or as they may
be elicited.

“ I shall, however, call the serious attention of the House,
and especially of those members of the House who have given
attention to the question in dispute as regards the validity of
the several treaties between the United States and England,
to the importance of this treaty in this respect, that it sets at
rest now and for ever the disputed question as to whether the
Convention of 1 8 1 8 was not repealed, and obliterated by the
treaty of 1854. This question, Mr. Speaker, is one that has
occupied the attention of the United States Jurists and has
been the subject of serious and elaborate discussions. From
my point of view the pretension of the United States is errone-
ous, but it has been pressed, and we know the pertinacity with
which such views are pressed by the United States. We have
an example in the case of the navigation of the river St.
Lawrence, which, while it was discussed from 1822 to 1828,
and was apparently settled then for ever between the two
nations, was revived by the President of the United States in
his address of 1870, and the difference between the point of

146

Washington Treaty Speech.

i47

view as pressed in 1828, by the United States and that pressed
in 1870, was shewn by the result of the treaty (Honourable
Mr. Blake, ‘ hear, hear ’). And, sir, it was of great importance
in my point of view that this question, which has been so
pressed by American jurists, and considering also the pertin-
acity with which such views are urged, should be set at rest
for ever.

“ The question has been strongly put in the American
Law Review of April 1871, in an article understood to have
been written by Judge Pomeroy, a jurist of standing in the
United States, and that paper, I believe, expresses the real
opinion of the writer — erroneous though I hold it to be —
and his candour is shown by this fact, as well as from the
known standing of the man, that in one portion of the article
he demolishes the claim of the American fishermen to the
right to trade in our water. He proves in an able argument
that the claim of American fishermen to enter our harbours
for any purpose other than wood, water, and shelter, is with-
out foundation. The view taken by that writer and others
— and among others by a writer whose name I do not know,
but whose papers are very valuable from their ability, they
appeared in the N.Y. Nation , is this : The treaty of 1783
was a treaty of peace, a settlement of boundary, and a
division of country between two nations. The United States
contended that that treaty was in force, and is now in force,
as it was a treaty respecting boundary, and was not abrogated
or affected by the war of 1812. Under the treaty of 1783,
and by the terms of that treaty, the fishermen of the United
States had the unrestrained right to enter into all our waters
up to our shores, and to every part of British North America.
After 1815 England contended that that permission was
abrogated by the war and was not renewed by the Treaty
of Peace of 1814. The two nations were thus at issue on
that very grave point, and those who look back to the history
of that day will find that the difference on that point threat-
ened the renewal of war, and it was only settled by the com-
promise known as the Convention of 1818, by which the
claim of the Americans to fish within three miles of our

148 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

shores, was renounced. The argument is, however, of a
nature too technical to be of interest to the House, and
requires to be very carefully studied before it can be under-
stood, I will not, therefore, trouble the House, with that
argument but I will read one or two passages to show the
general statement of the case.

“‘We shall now enquire whether the convention of 1818,
is an existing compact, and if not, what are the rights of
American fishermen under the Treaty of Peace of 1783.

“‘Since the expiration of the Reciprocity Treaty in 1866.
the British Government, both at home and in the provinces,
has, in its statutes, its official instructions, and its diplomatic
correspondence, quietly assumed that the convention of 1818
is again operative in all its provisions. That the State
Department at Washington should, by its silence, have ad-
mitted the correctness of this assumption, which is equally
opposed to principle and to authority, is remarkable. We
shall maintain the proposition that the treaty of peace of 1783
is now in full force, that all limitations upon its efficiency
have been removed, and that it is the only source and founda
tion of American fishing rights within the North Eastern
Territorial waters. In pursuing the discussions we shall
show, first, that the renunciatory clauses of the convention
of 1818 have been removed; and secondly, that article III,
of the treaty of 1783 thus left free from the restrictions of
the subsequent compact, was not abrogated by the war of
1812/

The writer thus concludes : —

“‘Article III of the treaty of 1783 is, therefore, in the
nature of an executed grant. It created and conferred at
one blow rights of property, perfect in their nature, and as
permanent as the dominion over the national soil. These
rights are held by the inhabitants of the United States, and
are to be exercised in British territorial waters. Unaffected
by the war of 1812, they still exist in full force and vigour.
Under the provisions of this treaty, American citizens are
now entitled to take fish on such parts of the coasts of New-
foundland as British fishermen use, and also on all the ccasU,

Washington Treaty Speech.

149

bays, and creeks, of all other His Britannic Majesty’s domin-
ions in America, and to dry and cure fish in any of the
unsettled bays, harbours, and creeks of Nova Scotia, the
Magdalen Islands and Labrador.

“ ‘The final conclusion thus reached is sustained by princi- *
pie and by authority. We submit that it should be adopted
by the Government of the United States, and made the basis
of any further negotiations with Great Britain/

“ I quote this for the purpose of showing that the pre-
tension was formally set up and elaborated by jurists of no
mean standing or reputation, and therefore it is one of the
merits of this treaty that it forever sets the dispute at rest.
The writers on this subject, the very writers of whom I have
spoken, admit that under this treaty the claim is gone, because
it is a formal admission by the United States Government
that, under the convention of 1818, we had, on May 8, 1871,
the property of these in-shore fisheries, and this was so
admitted after the question had been raised in the United
States, that the ratification of the treaty of 1854 was equal, in
its effect, to an abrogation of the convention of 1818. They
agree by this treaty to buy their entry into our waters, and
this is the strongest possible proof that their argument could
be no longer maintained. Just as the payment of rent by a
tenant is the strongest proof of his admission of the right of
the landlord, so is the agreement to pay to Canada a fair sum
as an equivalent for the use of our fisheries, an acknowledg-
ment of the permanent continuance of our right. So much,
sir, for that portion of the treaty which affects the fisheries.

“ I alluded a minute ago to the St. Lawrence. The sur-
render of the free navigation of the River St. Lawrence in its
natural state, was resisted by England up to 1828. The claim
was renewed by the present Government of the United States,
and asserted in a message to Congress by the present Presi-
dent of the United States. Her Majesty’s Government, in the
instructions sent to Her Commissioners, took the power and
responsibility of the matter into her own hands. It was a
matter which we could not control. Being a matter of
boundary between two nations, and affecting a river which

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

150

forms the boundary between the limits of the Empire and the
limits of the United States, it is solely within the control of
Her Majesty’s Government, and in the instructions to the
plenipotentiaries, this language is used : ‘ Her Majesty’s Gov-
ernment are now willing to grant the free navigation of the
St. Lawrence to the citizens of the United States, on the same
conditions and tolls as imposed on British subjects.’

“ I need not say, sir, that, as a matter of sentiment, I
regretted this, but it was a matter of sentiment only. How-
ever, there could be no practical good to Canada in resisting
the concession, and there was no possible evil inflicted on
Canada by the concession of the privilege of navigating that
small piece of broken water between St. Regis and Montreal.
In no way could it affect, prejudicially, the interests of Can-
ada, her trade, or her commerce. Without the use of our
canals, the river was useless. Up to Montreal the St. Law-
rence is open not only to the vessels of the United States, but
to the vessels of the world. Canada courts the trade and the
ships of the world, and it would have been most absurd to
suppose that the ports of Quebec and Montreal should be
closed to American shipping. No greater evidence of un-
friendly relations short of actual war can be adduced, than the
fact of the ports of a country being closed to the commerce
of another. It never entered into the minds of any that our
ports should be closed to the trade of the world in general, or
the United States in particular, no more than it would enter
into the minds of the English to close the ports of London
or Liverpool — those ports whither the flags of every nation
are invited and welcomed. (Cheers). From the source of the
St. Lawrence to St. Regis the United States are part owners
of the banks of the rivers, and by a well-known principle of
international law the water flowing between the two banks is
common to both, and not only is that a principle of law, but it
is a matter of actual treaty. The only question then was
whether, as the American people had set their hearts upon it,
and as it could do no harm to Canada or to England, it would
not be well to set this question at rest with the others, and
make the concession. This was the line taken by Her

Washington Treaty Speech.

151

Majesty’s Government, and which they had a right to take ;
and when some one writes my biography— if I am ever
thought worthy of having such an interesting document pre-
pared — and when, as a matter of history, the questions con-
nected with this treaty are upheld, it will be found that upon
this, as well as upon every other point, I did all I could to
protect the rights and claims of the Dominion. (Cheers).

“With respect to the right itself, I would call the attention
of the House to the remarks of a distinguished English jurist
upon the point. I have read from the work of an American
jurist, and I will now read some remarks of Mr. Phillimore, a
standard English writer on international law. What I am
about to read was written under the idea that the Americans
were claiming what would be of practical use to them. He
was not aware that the difficulties of navigation were such that
the concession would be of no practical use. He writes as
follows :

“ ‘ Great Britain possessed the northern shores of the lakes,
and of the river in its whole extent to the sea, and also
the southern bank of the river from the latitude forty-five
degrees north to its mouth. The United States possessed the
southern shores of the lakes, and of the St. Lawrence, to the
point where their northern boundary touched the river. These
two governments were therefore placed pretty much in the
same attitude towards each other, with respect to the naviga-
tion of the St. Lawrence, as the United States and Spain had
been in with respect to the navigation of the Mississippi,
before the acquisitions of Louisiana and Florida.

“ ‘ The argument on the part of the United States was much
the same as that which they had employed with respect to the
navigation of the Mississippi. They referred to the dispute
about the opening of the Scheldt in 1874, and contended that,
in the case of that river, the fact of the banks having been the
creation of artificial labour was a much stronger reason, than
could be said to exist in the case of the Mississippi for closing
the mouths of the sea adjoining the Dutch Canals of the Sas
and the Swin, and that this peculiarity probably caused the
insertion of the stipulation in the Treaty of Westphalia ; that

152

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

the case of the St. Lawrence differed materially from that of
the Scheldt, and fell directly under the principle of free navi-
gation embodied in the Treaty of Vienna respecting the
Rhine, the Neckar, the Mayne, the Moselle, the Meuse and
the Scheldt. But especially it was urged, and with a force
which it must have been difficult to parry, that the present
claim of the United States with respect to the navigation of
the St. Lawrence, was precisely of the same nature as that
which Great Britain had put forward with respect to the navi-
gation of the Mississippi when the mouth and lower shores of
that river were in the possession of another State, and of
which claim Great Britain had procured the recognition by the
Treaty of Paris in 1763.

“ ‘The principle argument contained in the reply of Great
Britain was, that the liberty of passage by one nation through
the dominions of another was, according to the doctrine of the
most eminent writers upon International Law, a qualified
occasional exception to the paramount rights of property ;
that it was what these writers called an imperfect, and not a
perfect right ; that the Treaty of Vienna did not sanction this
notion of a natural right to the free passage over rivers, but,
on the contrary, the inference was that, not being a natural
right, it required to be established by a convention ; that the
right of passage once conceded must hold good for other
purposes besides those of trade in peace, for hostile purposes
in time of war ; that the United States could not consistently
urge their claim on principle without being prepared to apply
that principle by way of reciprocity, in favour of British
subjects, to the navigation of the Mississippi and the Hudson,
to which access might be had from Canada by land carriage
or by the canals of New York and Ohio.

“ ‘ The United States replied, that practically the St. Law-
rence was a strait, and was subject to the same principles of
law ; and that as straits are accessory to the seas which they
unite and therefore the right of navigating them is common to
all nations, so the St. Lawrence connects with the ocean those
great inland lakes, on the shores of which the subjects of the
United States and Great Britain both dwell ; and, on the

Washington Treaty Speech.

153

same principle, the natural link of the river, like the natural
link of the strait, must be equally available for the purpose of
passage by both. The passage over land, which was always
pressing upon the minds of the writers on international law, is
intrinsically different from a passage over water ; in the latter
instance, no detriment or inconvenience can be sustained by
the country to which it belongs. The track of the ship is
effaced as soon as made ; the track of an army may leave
serious and lasting injury behind. The United States would
not shrink from the application of the analogy with respect to
the navigation of the Mississippi, and whenever a connection
was effected between it and Upper Canada, similar to that
existing between the United States and the St. Lawrence, the
same principle should be applied. It was, however, to be
recollected, that the case of rivers which both rise and disem-
bogue themselves within the limits of the same nation is very
distinguishable, upon principle, from that of rivers which,
having their sources and navigable positions of their streams
in States above, discharge themselves within the limits of
other States below.

“ ‘ Lastly, the fact, that the free navigation of rivers had
been made a matter of convention did not disprove that this
navigation was a matter of natural right restored to its proper
position by treaty.

“ ‘The result of this controversy has hitherto produced no
effect. Great Britain has maintained her exclusive right. The
United States still remain debarred from the use of this great
highway, and are not permitted to carry over it the produce of
the vast and rich territories which border on the lakes above
to the Atlantic ocean.

“ ‘ It seems difficult to deny that Great Britain may ground
her refusal upon strict law ; but it is at least equally difficult
to deny, first, that in so doing she exercises harshly an
extreme and hard law ; secondly, that her conduct with
respect to the navigation of the St. Lawrence is in glaring and
discreditable inconsistency with her conduct with respect to
the navigation of the Mississippi. On the ground that she
possessed a small tract of domain in which the Mississippi

154 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

took its rise, she insisted on her right to navigate the entire
volume of its waters ; on the ground that she possesses both
banks of the St. Lawrence, where it disembogues itself into
the sea, she denies to the United States the right of naviga-
tion, though about one half of the waters of Lakes Ontario,
Erie, Huron and Superior, and the whole of Lake Michigan,
through which the river flows, are the property of the United
States.

“‘An English writer upon International Law cannot but
express a hope that this summinn jus , which, in this case,
approaches to summa injuria , may be voluntarily abandoned
by his country. Since the late revolution in the South
American Provinces, by which the dominion of Rosas was
overthrown, there appears to be good reason to hope that the
States of Paraguay, Bolivia, Buenos Ayres, and Brazil, will
open the River Parana, to the navigation of the world.’ ”

“ On reading a report of a speech of my honourable friend,
the member for Lambton, on this subject — a very able and
interesting speech, if he will allow me so to characterize it — I
find that in speaking of the navigation of Lake Michigan, he
stated that that lake was as much a portion of the St. Law-
rence as the river itself. I do not know under what principle
my honourable friend made that statement, but those inland
seas are seas as much as the Black Sea is a sea and not a
river. The lake is enclosed on all sides by the United States
territory ; no portion of its shores belongs to Canada, and
England has no right by International Law to claim its navi-
gation. Sir, she never has claimed it, for if my honourable
friend will look into the matter, he will find that these great
lakes have ever been treated as inland seas, and as far as
magnitude is concerned, are worthy of being so treated.
Although Her Majesty’s Commissioners pressed that the
navigation of Lake Michigan should be granted as an equiva-
lent for the navigation of the St. Lawrence, the argument
could not be based on the same footing, and we did not and
could not pretend to have the same grounds. It is, however,
of little moment whether Canada has a grant by treaty of the
free navigation of Lake Michigan or not, for the cities on the

The Navigation of the St. Lawrence.

i55

shores of that lake would never consent to have their ports
closed, and there is no fear in the world of our vessels being
excluded from those ports. The Western States, and
especially those bordering on the Great Lakes, would resist
this to the death. I would like to see a Congress that would
venture to close the ports of Lake Michigan to the shipping of
England, or of Canada, or of the world. The small portion of
the St. Lawrence which lies between the two points I have
mentioned, would be of no use, as there is no advantage to be
obtained therefrom as a lever to obtain reciprocity.

Honourable Mr. Mackenzie : “ Hear, hear.”

Honourable Sir John A. Macdonald : “ My honourable
friend says ‘ Hear, hear,’ but I will tell him that the only lever
for obtaining reciprocity is the sole control of our canals. So
long as we have the control of these canals we are the masters,
and can do just as we please. American vessels on the down
trip can run the rapids, if they get a strong Indian to steer,
but they will never come back again unless Canada chooses.
(Hear). The keel drives through those waters, and then the
mark disappears forever, and that vessel will be forever absent
from the place that once knew it, unless by the consent of
Canada. Therefore, as I pointed out before the recess, as we
have no lever in our fisheries to get reciprocity, so we had
none in the navigation of the St. Lawrence in its natural
course. The real substantial means to obtain reciprocal trade
with the United States is in the canals, and is expressly stated
in the treaty ; and when the treaty, in clause 27, which relates
to the canals, uses the words : ‘ The Government of Her Brit-
tanic Majesty engages to urge upon the Government of the
Dominion of Canada to secure to the citizens of the United
States the use of the Welland and St. Lawrence and other
canals in the Dominion, on terms of equality, etc.,’ it contains
an admission by the United States, and it is of some advan-
tage to have that admission, that the canals are our own
property, which we can open to the United States as we
please. The reason why this admission is important is this :
article 26 provides that ‘ the navigation of the River St. Law-
rence, ascending and descending from the 45th parallel of

156 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

north latitude, where it ceases to form the boundary between
the two countries, from, to and into the sea, shall forever
remain free and open for the purposes of commerce to the
citizens of the United States, subject to any laws and regula-
tions of Great Britain or of the Dominion of Canada not
inconsistent with such privileges of free navigation/ There-
fore, lest it might be argued that, as at the time the treaty was
made, it was known that, for the purpose of ascent, the river
could not be overcome in its natural course, the provision
granting the right of ascent must be held to include the navi-
gation of the canals, through which alone the ascent could be
made, the next clause provides and specifies that these
canals are especially within the control of Canada and the
Canadian Government, and prevents any inference being
drawn from the language of the preceding article. I know,
sir, that there has been, in some of the newspapers, a sneer cast
upon the latter paragraph of that article, which gives the
United States the free use of the St. Lawrence, — I refer to
that part of the article which gives to Canadians the free navi-
gation of the rivers Yukon, Porcupine and Stikine.

Honourable Mr. Mackenzie — “ Hear, hear.”

Honourable Sir John A. Macdonald — “ My honourable
friend again says ‘ hear, hear/ I hope that he will hear, and
perhaps he will hear something he does not know. (Hear,
hear). I may tell my honourable friend that the navigation
of the River Yukon is a growing trade, and that the Ameri-
cans are now sending vessels and are fitting out steamers
for the navigation of the Yukon. I will tell my honour-
able friend that at this moment United States vessels are
going up that river and are underselling the Hudson’s Bay
people in their own country, (hear, hear), and it is a matter
of the very greatest importance to the Western country that
the navigation of these rivers should be open to the com-
merce of British subjects, and that access should be had by
means of these rivers, so that there is no necessity at all
for the ironical cheer of my honourable friend. Sir, I am
not unaware that under an old treaty entered into between
Russia and England, the former granted to the latter the free

The Navigation of the St. Lawrence.

i57

navigation of these streams, and the free navigation of
all the streams in Alaska. But that was a treaty between
Russia and England, and although it may be argued, and
would be argued by England, that when the United States
tt>ok that country from Russia it took it with all its obliga-
tions ; yet, Mr. Speaker, there are two sides to that question.
The United States, I venture to say, would hang an argu-
ment upon it, and I can only tell my honourable friend that
the officers of the United States have exercised authority
in the way of prohibition or obstruction, and have offered the
pretext that that was a matter which had been settled
between Russia and England, that the United States now
had that country, and would deal with it as they chose, and,
therefore, as this was a treaty to settle all old questions,
and not to raise new ones, it was well that the free navigation
of the rivers I have mentioned, should be settled at once
between England and the United States, as before it had
been between England and Russia.

“ Before leaving the question of the St. Lawrence, I will
make one remark, and will then proceed to another topic,
and that is, that the article in question does not in any way
hand over or divide any proprietary rights on the river St.
Lawrence, or give any sovereignty over it, or confer any
right whatever, except that of free navigation. Both banks
belong to Canada — the management, the regulation, the tolls,
the improvement, all belong to Canada. The only stipula-
tion made in the treaty is that the United States vessels may
use the St. Lawrence on as free terms as those of Canadian
subjects. It is not a transfer of territorial rights — it is simply
a permission to navigate the river by American vessels, that
the navigation shall ever remain free and open for the purpose
of commerce (and only for the purpose of commerce) ‘ to
citizens of the United States, subject to any laws and regula-
tions of Great Britain, or of the Dominion of Canada, not
inconsistent with the privilege of free navigation.’

“ Mr. Speaker, I shall now allude to one of the subjects
included in the treaty, which relate to the navigation of our
waters, although it was not contemplated in the instructions

158 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

given to the British Commissioners by Her Majesty’s Govern-
ment, in fact the subject was scarcely known in England, and
that is what is known as the St. Clair Flats question. It is
known that the waters of the River St. Clair and the waters of
Lake St. Clair divide the two countries ; that the boundary
line which divides them is provided by treaty ; that the treaty
of 1842 provides that all the channels and passages between
the islands lying near the junction of the River St. Clair with
the Lake, shall be equally free to both nations, so that all
those channels were made common to both nations, and are so
now. Canada has made appropriations for the purpose of
improvement of these waters. There were also appropriations
made — I forget whether by the United States or by the State
of Michigan, or by private individuals — for the purpose of
improving the waters, and the United States made a canal
in and through the St. Clair Flats. The question then arose
whether that canal was in Canadian territory, or within that
of the United States. I have no doubt that the engineering
officers appointed by the United States to choose the site of
the canal and to construct it, acted in good faith in choosing
the site, believing that it was in the United States, and from
all I can learn, subsequent observations proved that to be the
case.

Honourable Mr. Mackenzie : “ Hear, hear.”

Honourable Sir John A. Macdonald : “ My honourable
friend says ‘ hear, hear/ and I have no doubt he will give us an
argument, and an able one, too, as he is quite competent to do,
to show that under the treaty this canal is in Canada. An
argument might be founded in favour of that view from the
language of the report of the International Commissioners
appointed to determine the boundary between the two coun-
tries, that is, if we looked at the language alone and combined
with that language the evidence of those accustomed of old to
navigate those waters. I admit that an argument might be
based on the language of the report, when it speaks of the old
ship channel, and that the evidence and statements that have
been made as to the position of that channel, might have left
it a matter of doubt whether the canal, or a portion of it, was

St. Clair Flats.

i59.

within the boundary of Canada, but the Commissioners not
only made a report, but they added to it a map, to which
they placed their signatures, and any one reading the report
with the map, and holding the map as a portion of the report,
will see that this canal is in the United States. It might, but
for the Treaty of Washington, have been unfortunate that it
is so, because it might, perhaps, have impeded the navigation
of the flats by Canadian vessels.

“ But the question is whether, under the old treaty, and
the report and map made according to its provisions (which
report and map form, in fact, a portion of such treaty) the
canal is within the United States boundary or not. When the
point was raised that the map was inconsistent with the
report, Her Majesty’s Government, I have no doubt under the
advice of Her Majesty’s legal advisers, said it was a point that
would not admit of argument, that the two must be taken
together, and that the map explained and defined the meaning
of the language of the report. But, sir, ‘ out of the nettle
danger we pluck the flower safety.’ The House will see by
looking at the clause I referred to, that it is a matter of no
consequence whether the canal is in the United States or
Canada, because for all time to come that canal is to be
used by the people of Canada on equal terms with the people
of the United States. In the speech of my honourable friend
to which I have referred, that canal, he says, is only secured to
Canada during the ten years mentioned with reference to the
fishery articles of the treaty. I say it is secured for all time,
just as the navigation of the St. Lawrence is given for all time.
The United States have gone to the expense of building the
canal, and now we have the free use of it. If the United
States put on a toll there we pay no greater toll than United
States citizens, and it is of the first and last advantage to the
commerce of both nations that the deepening of these chan-
nels should be gone on with ; and I can tell my honourable
friend, moreover, that in this present Congress there is a
measure to spend a large additional sum of money on this
canal out of the revenues of the United States for that object.
So much for the St. Clair Flats.

i6o

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

“ Now, sir, as to some of the advantages to be gained by
the treaty, I would call the attention of the House to the 29th
article, which ensures for the whole time of the existence ot
the treaty, for twelve years at least, the continuance of ‘ the
bonding system.’ We know how valuable that has been to
us, how valuable, during the winter months, when we are
deprived of the use of our own seaports on the St. Lawrence.
The fact that the American press had occasionally called for
the abolition of the system is a proof of the boon which they
considered it to be. They have said at times, when they
thought an unfriendly feeling existed towards them in Canada,
that if Canadians would be so bumptious, they should be
deprived of this system, and allowed to remain cooped up in
their frozen country. If the United States should ever com-
mit the folly of injuring their carrying trade by adopting a
hostile policy in that respect, and they have occasionally, as
we know, adopted a policy towards us adverse to their com-
mercial interest, they could have done so before this treaty
was ratified — they cannot do so now. For twelve years we
have a right to the bonding system from the United States
over all their avenues of trade, and long before that time
expires, I hope we shall have the Canadian Pacific Railway
reaching to the Pacific Ocean, and with the Intercolonial
Railway reaching to Halifax, we shall have an uninterrupted
line from one seaboard to the other. (Cheers). This is one
of the substantial advantages that Canada has gained by this
treaty.

“ Then, sir, the 30th article conveys a most valuable
privilege to the railways of Canada that are running from one
part of the country to another, and I must take the occasion
to say that if this has been pressed upon the consideration of
the American Government and American Commissioners at
Washington, during the negotiation, much of the merit is due
to the honourable member for Lincoln (Mr. Merritt). He it
was who supplied me with the facts ; he it was who called
attention to the great wrong to our trade by the Act of 1866
and impressed by him with the great importance of the
subject, I was enabled to urge the adoption of this article and

Privileges to Railways.

161

to have it made a portion of the treaty. Now, sir, that this is
of importance you can see by reading the Buffalo papers.
Sometime ago they were crying out that the entrance had
been made by this wedge, which was to ruin their coasting
trade, and that the whole coasting trade of the lakes was being
handed over to Canada. Under this clause, if we choose to
accept it, Canadian vessels can go to Chicago; can take
American produce from American ports, and can carry it to
Windsor or Colling wood, or the Welland Railway. That
same American produce can be sent in bond from those and
other points along our railways, giving the traffic to our vessels
by water, and our railways by land, to Lake Ontario, and can
then be reshipped by Canadian vessels to Oswego, Ogdens-
burg, or Rochester, or other American ports ; so that this clause
gives us, in some degree, a relaxation of the extreme, almost
harsh, exclusive coasting system of the United States (hear),
and I am quite sure that in this age of railways, and when the
votes and proceedings show that so many new railway under-
takings are about to start, this will prove a substantial improve-
ment on the former state of affairs. There is a provision that
if, in the exercise of our discretion, we choose to put a differ-
ential scale of tolls on American vessels passing through our
canals, and if New Brunswick should continue her export
duties on lumber passing down the River St. John, the United
States may withdraw from this arrangement, so that it will be
hereafter, if the treaty be adopted, and this Act passed, a
matter for the consideration of the Government of Canada in
the first place, and of the Legislature in the next, to determine
whether it is expedient for them to take advantage of this
boon that is offered to them. As to the expediency of their
doing so, I have no doubt, and I have no doubt Parliament
will eagerly seek to gain and establish those rights for our
ships and railways, (Hear, hear).

“ The only other subject of peculiar interest to Canada in
connection with the treaty — the whole of it of course is inter-
esting to Canada as a part of the Empire, but speaking of
Canada as such, and of the interest taken in the treaty locally
— the only other subject is the manner of disposing of the

VOL. II.

ii

62

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

San Juan boundary question. That is settled in a way that
no one can object to. I do not know whether many honour-
able members have ever studied that question. It is a most
interesting one, and has long been a cause of controversy
between the two countries. I am bound to uphold, and I do
uphold, the British view respecting the channel which forms
the boundary as the correct one. The United States Govern-
ment were, I believe, as sincerely convinced of the justice of
their own case. Both believed they were in the right, both
were firmly grounded in that opinion ; and such being the
case, there was only one way out of it, and that was to leave it
to be settled by impartial arbitration. I think the House will
admit that no more distinguished arbiter could have been
selected than the Emperor of Germany. In the examination
and decision of the question he will have the assistance of as
able and eminent jurists as any in the world, for there is
nowhere a more distinguished body than the jurists of Ger-
many, who are especially familiar with the principles and
practice of international law. Whatever the decision may be,
whether for England or against it, you may be satisfied that
you will get a most learned and careful judgment in the
matter, to which we must bow if it is against us, and to which
I am sure the United States will bow if it is against them.
(Hear, hear).

“ I think I have now gone through all the articles of inter-
est connected with Canada, I shall now allude to one omission
from it, and then I shall have done ; and that is the omission
of all allusion to the settlement of the Fenian claims. That
Canada was deeply wronged by those outrages known as the
Fenian raids is indisputable. England has admitted it, and
we all feel it. We felt deeply grieved when those raids were
committed, and the belief was general, in which I must say I
share, that sufficient vigilance and due diligence were not
exercised by the American Government to prevent the organ-
ization, within their territory, of bands of armed men openly
hostile to a peaceful country, and to put an end to incursions
by men who carried war over our borders, slew our people and
destroyed our property. It was therefore proper for us to

The Fenian Claims.

!05

press upon England to seek compensation at the hands of the
American Government for these great wrongs. As a con-
sequence of our position, as a dependency, we could only do
it through England. We had no means or authority to do
it directly ourselves ; and consequently we urged our case
upon the attention of England and she consented to open
negotiations with the United States upon the subject. In
the instructions it is stated that Canada had been invited
to send in a statement of her claims to England and that
it had not done so ; and I dare say it will be charged —
indeed, I have seen it so stated in some of the newspapers —
that that was an instance of Canadian neglect. Now, it is
not an instance of Canadian neglect, but an instance of Can-
adian caution. (Hear, hear). Canada had a right to press
for the payment of those claims, whatever the amount ; for
all the money spent to repel those incursions had been taken
out of the public treasury of Canada and had to be raised
by the taxation of the country. Not only had they the right
to press for that amount, but every individual Canadian who
suffered in person or property because of those raids had a
right to compensation.

“It was not for Canada, however, to put a limit to those
claims, and to state what amount of money would be con-
sidered as a satisfactory liquidation of them. It has never
been the case when commissions have been appointed for
the settlement of such claims to hand in those claims in
detail before the sitting of the commission. What Canada
pressed for was that the principle should be established, that
the demand should be made by England upon the United
States, that that demand should be acquiesced in, that the
question of damages should be referred to a tribunal like that
now sitting at Washington for the investigation of claims
connected with the civil war in the South, that time should be
given within which the Canadian Government, as a Govern-
ment, and every individual Canadian who suffered by those
outrages, should have an opportunity of filing their claims,
of putting in an account and of offering proof to establish
their right to an indemnity. The Canadian Government

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

i 66

carefully avoided, by any statement of their views, the placing
of a limit upon those claims in advance of examination by
such a commission ; and I think the House and country will
agree that we acted with due discretion in that respect.
(Hear, hear). Now, one of the protocols will show the result
of the demand for indemnity. The demand was made by
the British Commissioners that this question should be dis-
cussed and considered by the commission, but the United
States Commissioners objected, taking the ground that the
consideration of these claims was not included in the corres-
pondence and reference. In doing that they took the same
ground that my honourable friend the member for Sher-
brooke, with his usual acuteness and appreciation of the value
of language, took when the matter was discussed in this
House before my departure for Washington. He said then
that he greatly doubted whether, under the correspondence
which led to the appointment of the High Commission, it
could be held that the Fenian claims were to be considered ;
and although my honourable friend the Minister of Militia
thought it might fairly be held that those claims were in-
cluded, I myself could not help feeling the strength of the
argument advanced by the honourable member for Sher-
brooke, and I stated at the time that I thought there was
great weight in the objection which he pointed out.

“ The American Commissioners, as the event proved,
raised that objection, maintaining that the point was not
included in the correspondence in which the subjects of delib-
eration were stated, and when it was proposed to them by the
British Commissioners, the American Commissioners declined
to ask their Government for fresh instructions to enlarge the
scope of their duty in that respect. Now, we could not help
that. There was the correspondence to speak for itself, and
it was matter of considerable doubt whether those claims were
included in it. The British ambassador represented that he
had always thought that the correspondence did include them,
and he was struck with surprise — perhaps I ought not to say
surprise, for that was not the expression he used — but he
was certainly under the impression that it had been regarded

The Fenian Claims.

167

by all parties that they were covered by the correspond-
ence. Still, let any one read these letters, and he will find
it very doubtful. As it was doubtful, and as objection was
raised on that ground, the British Commissioners had no
power to compel the American Commissioners to determine
the doubt in their favour, and force these claims upon their
consideration. The consequence was that they were omitted
from the deliberations of the commission. Whose fault was
that ? Certainly not ours. It was the fault of Her Majesty’s
Government in not demanding in clear language, in terms
which could not be misunderstood, that the investigation of
these claims should be one of the matters dealt with by the
commission. (Hear, hear).

“It was a great disappointment to my colleagues in Can-
ada, that the objection was taken, and that all hope of getting
redress for the injury done by those Fenian raids was
destroyed, so far as the commission at Washington was con-
cerned, in consequence of the defective language of the corres-
pondence, and the defective nature of the submission to the
commissioners. Now, England was responsible for that error.
England had promised to make the demand, and England
had failed to make it. Not only that, but her Majesty’s Gov-
ernment took the responsibility of withdrawing the claims
altogether, and Mr. Gladstone fully assumed all the responsi-
bility of this step, and relieved the Canadian Government from
any share in it, when he stated openly in the House of Com-
mons that the Imperial Government had seen fit to withdraw
the claims, but that they had done so with great reluctance and
sorrow for the manner in which Canada had been treated.
Canada, therefore, had every right to look to England for that
satisfaction which she failed to receive through the inade-
quacy of the correspondence to cover the question. England,
by taking the responsibility of declining to push the claims,
put herself in the position of the United States, and we had a
fair and reasonable right to look to her to assume the respon-
sibility of settling them. She did not decline that responsi-
bility, and the consequence has been that, although we failed
to obtain redress from the United States for those wrongs, we

1 68

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

have had an opportunity of securing compensation from Eng-
land, which would not have been offered to us if it had not been
for the steps taken by this Government. (Hear, hear).

“ But, sir, we are told that it is a great humiliation for
Canada to take this money, or rather this money’s worth.
Why, it is our due. We are entitled to it, and we must
have it from * some one. England refused to ask it for us
from the United States, and she accepted all the responsi-
bility which that refusal involved. She was wise in accepting
that responsibility ; she must take the consequences, and she
is willing to do so. But the Canadian Government, on the
other hand, were unwilling that the compensation which Eng-
land thus acknowledged was due to us by her should take a
direct pecuniary form. We were unwilling that it should be
the payment of a certain amount of money, and there were
several strong reasons why we should prefer not to accept
reparation in that shape. In the first place, if a proposal of
that kind were made, it would cause a discussion as to the
amount to be paid by England, of a most unseemly character.
We would have the spectacle of a judge appointed to examine
the claims in detail, with Canada pressing her case upon his
attention, and England probably resisting in some cases, and
putting herself in an antagonistic position, which should not
be allowed to occur between the mother country and the
colony. It was, therefore, in the last degree unadvisable that
the relations between Canada and the mother country, which
throughout have been of so friendly and pleasant a character,
should be placed in jeopardy in that way ; and, accordingly,
a suggestion was made by us which, without causing England
to expend a sixpence, or putting the least additional burden
upon her people, would, if acted upon, do us more good, and
prove of infinitely greater advantage than any amount of mere
money compensation we could reasonably expect. This was
a mode of disposing of the question in the highest degree
satisfactory to both countries, and one which does not in the
least compromise our dignity or our self-respect. (Hear, hear).

“ The credit of Canada, thank God, is well-established ;
her good faith is known wherever she has had financial deal-

The Fenian Claims.

i 69

ings. Her Majesty’s Government can go to the House
of Commons and ask for authority to guarantee a Canadian
loan with a well-grounded assurance that the people of Eng-
land will never be called upon to put their hands in their
pockets or tax themselves one farthing to pay it. (Cheers).
At the same time the Imperial Government, by giving us this
guarantee, grants us a boon the value of which, in enabling us
to construct the great works of public improvement we have
undertaken, was explained the other day so ably and in
a manner that I would not attempt to imitate, by my honour-
able friend the Finance Minister. Besides the double advan-
tage to ourselves in getting the endorsement of England with-
out disadvantage to the English people, there is to be con-
sidered the great, the enormous benefit that accrues to Canada
from this open avowal on the part of England of the interest
she takes in the success of our great public enterprises.
(Cheers). No one can say now when she is sending out one
of her distinguished statesmen to take the place of the noble-
man who now so worthily represents Her Majesty in the
Dominion ; no one can say when England is aiding us by
endorsing a loan, spreading over so many years, and which
will not be finally extinguished till most of us now here will
have been gathered to our fathers ; no one can say under
these circumstances, she has any idea of separating herself
from us and giving up the colonies. (Cheers).

“ The solid substantial advantage of being able to obtain
money on better terms than we could on our own credit alone,
is not the only benefit this guarantee will confer upon us ;
for it will put a finish at once to the hopes of all dreamers
or speculators who desire or believe in the alienation and
separation of the colonies from the mother country. That
is a more incalculable benefit than the mere advantage of
England’s guarantee of our financial stability, great and
important as that is. (Loud cheers). Aye, but it is
said that it is a humiliation to make a bargain of this
kind. Why, sir, it was no humiliation in 1841 to obtain
an Imperial guarantee for the loan necessary to construct the
canals originally. It was not considered a humiliation to

1 70

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

accept a guarantee for ;£ 1,400, 000 in 1865 for the purpose of
building fortifications, nor was it a humiliation to obtain
.£4,000,000 upon a similar guarantee to construct the Inter-
colonial Railway. Why is it a humiliation then, in this case,
to accept the guarantee when England voluntarily comes
forward and accepts the responsibility for withdrawing our
claims in respect to the Fenian raids ? It was by no prompt-
ing from us that that responsibility was assumed, for Mr.
Gladstone rose of his own motion in the House of Commons,
and by accepting the responsibility admitted that it should
take a tangible shape. It did take such a shape, and I say a
most satisfactory shape in the guarantee of £2,500,000
immediately, and we may say £4,000,000 in all, ultimately.
(Cheers).

“ But I hear it objected that Canada ought not to have
made a bargain at all. She should have allowed the Fenian
claims to go, and dealt with the treaty separately, accepting
or rejecting it on its merits. Sir, Canada did not make a
bargain of that kind, but she went fairly and openly to Her
Majesty’s Government and said : ‘ Here is a treaty that has
been negotiated through your influence, and which affects
important commercial interests in this country. It is unpopu-
lar in Canada in its commercial aspect, but it is urged on us
for Imperial causes, and for the sake of the peace of the
Empire; but the pecuniary interests of Canada should, in the
opinion of the Canadian Government, be considered, and the
undoubted claim of Canada for compensation for these Fenian
outrages has been set aside. We may well, therefore, call
upon you to strengthen our hands by showing that you are
unwilling to sacrifice Canada altogether for Imperial purposes
solely.’ Sir, we asked that for Canada, and the response was
immediate and gratifying, except that England did not accept
the whole of our proposition to guarantee a loan of £4,000,000.
But I am as certain as I am standing in this House, and I am
not speaking without book, that had it not been for the
unfortunate cloud that arose between the United States and
England, which threatened to interrupt the friendly settlement
of all questions between them, but which, I am now happy to

The Guaranteed Loan.

171

say, is passing away, the difficulty would have been removed
by England permitting us to add to the ^2,500,000,^1,400-
000 which she guaranteed some years since to be expended on
fortifications and other defensive preparations. That money
had not been expended, and there would now have [been no
object in applying it for the construction of works which
would have been a standing menace to the United States, and
which would have been altogether out of place immediately
after signing a treaty of peace and amity.

“ I do not hesitate to say, and I repeat I am not speaking
without book, that I believe a proposition of that kind would
have been acceptable to Her Majesty’s Government, but when
the cloud arose ; when there was a possibility of this treaty
being held as a nullity, and when there was danger of the
relations between the two countries returning to the unfortunate
position in which they were before — then was not the time for
England to ask us, or for us to propose to give up the idea of
fortifying our frontier, and defending our territory. Then was
not the time either for the Canadian Government to show
an unwillingness to spend money upon these works, or to
defend and retain the Dominion as a dependency of the
Sovereign of England (cheers). I say, therefore, that while we
are actually receiving a guarantee of ^2,500,000, if the
relations of England and the United States are again
brought into harmony, and the lowering cloud which
recently sprung up is removed, and removed in such a way
as never to appear again, then it may fairly be thought, it
may reasonably be calculated upon, that we will have a
guarantee of the full amount of £ 4 ., 000, 000, in order to carry
out the great improvements we have entered upon. The
Finance Minister has shewn you the advantages which will
flow from that arrangement, and it would be presumption
in me to add a word to what he so well said upon that point
which was in the highest degree satisfactory to this House
and in the highest degree also satisfactory to the people of
the country.

“ I shall now move the first reading of this Bill, and I
shall simply sum up my remarks by saying that with respect

172

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

to the treaty I consider that every portion of it is unobjection-
able to the country, unless the articles connected with the
fisheries may be considered objectionable. With respect to
those articles, I ask this House fully and calmly to consider
the circumstances, and I believe, if they fully consider the
situation, that they will say it is for the good of Canada
that those articles should be ratified. Reject the treaty, and
you do not get reciprocity ; reject the treaty, and you leave
the fishermen of the Maritime Provinces at the mercy of the
Americans ; reject the treaty, and you will cut off the merchants
engaged in that trade from the American market. Reject
the treaty and you will have a large annual expenditure in
keeping up a marine police force to protect those fisheries,
amounting to about $84,000 per annum. Reject the treaty,
and you will have to call upon England to send her fleet and
give you both her moral and physical support, although you
will not adopt her policy ; reject the treaty, and you will find
that the bad feeling which formerly and until lately existed
in the United States against England will be transferred to
Canada: that the United States will say, and say justly,
‘ Here, when two nations like England and the United States
have settled all their differences and all their quarrels upon
a perpetual basis, these happy results are to be frustrated and
endangered by the Canadian people, because they have not
got the value of their fish for ten years.’ (Cheers).

“It has been said by the honourable gentleman on my
left (Mr. Howe) in his speech to the Young Men’s Christian
Association, that England had sacrificed the interests of
Canada. If England has sacrificed the interests of Canada,
what sacrifice has she not made in the cause of peace between
those two great nations, rendered herself liable, leaving out
all indirect claims, to pay millions out of her own treasury?
Has she not made all this sacrifice, which only Englishmen
and English statesmen can know, for the sake of peace —
and for whose sake has she made it ? Has she not made
it principally for the sake of Canada ? (Loud cheers). Let
Canada be severed from England — let England not be respon-
sible to us, and for us, and what could the United States

Consequences of Rejecting the Treaty. 173

do to England ? Let England withdraw herself into her shell,
and what can the United States do? England has got the
supremacy of the sea — she is impregnable in every point but
one, and that point is Canada ; and if England does call
upon us to make a financial sacrifice ; does find it for the
good of the Empire that we, England’s first colony, should
sacrifice something, I say that we would be unworthy of our
proud position if we were not prepared to do so. (Cheers).
I hope to live to see the day, and, if I do not, that my son
may be spared to see Canada the right arm of England,
(cheers) to see Canada a powerful auxiliary to the Empire,
not as now a cause of anxiety and a source of danger. And
I think that if we are worthy to hold that position as the
right arm of England, we should not object to a sacrifice
of this kind when so great an object is attained, and the
object is a great and lasting one.

“ It is said that amities between nations cannot be perpet-
ual. But I say that this treaty which has gone through so
many difficulties and dangers, if it is carried into effect,
removes almost all possibility of war. If ever there was an
irritating cause of war, it was from the occurrences arising out
of the escape of those vessels, and when we see the United
States people and Government forget this irritation, forget
those occurrences, and submit such a question to arbitration,
to the arbitration of a disinterested tribunal, they have estab-
lished a principle which can never be forgotten in this world.
No future question is ever likely to arise that will cause such
irritation as the escape of the Alabama did, and if they could
be got to agree to leave such a matter to the peaceful arbitra-
ment of a friendly power, what future cause of quarrel can, in
the imagination of man, occur that will not bear the same
pacific solution that is sought for in this. I believe that this
treaty is an epoch in the history of civilization, that it will
set an example to the wide world that must be followed ;
and with the growth of the great Anglo-Saxon family, and
with the development of that mighty nation to the south of
us, I believe that the principle of arbitration will be advocated
and adopted as the sole principle of settlement of differences

174

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

between the English speaking peoples, and that it will have a
moral influence in the world. And although it may be
opposed to the antecedents of other nations that great moral
principle which has now been established among the Anglo-
Saxon family, will spread itself over all the civilized world
(Cheers). It is not too much to say that it is a great advance
in the history of mankind, and I should be sorry if it were
recorded that it was stopped for a moment by a selfish con-
sideration of the interests of Canada.

“ Had the Government of Canada taken the course, which
was quite open to them, to recommend Parliament to reject
those articles, it might have been a matter of some interest, as
to what my position would have been. I am here at all events
advocating the ratification of the treaty, and, I may say, not-
withstanding the taunts of the honourable gentlemen opposite,
that although I was chosen for the position of a Commissioner
certainly because I was a Canadian, and presumably because
I was a member of the Canadian Government, yet my com-
mission was given to me as a British subject, as it was to Sir
Stafford Northcote and other members of the Commission. I
went to Washington as a Plenipotentiary, as Her Majesty’s
servant, and was bound by Her Majesty’s instructions, and I
would have been guilty of dereliction of duty if I had not car-
ried out those instructions. And, sir, when I readily joined,
under the circumstances, in every word of that treaty with the
exception of the fishery articles, and when I succeeded in
having inserted in the treaty a reservation to the Government
and the people of Canada of the full right to accept or refuse
that portion of it, I had no difficulty as to my course.
(Cheers). I did not hesitate to state that if that clause had
not been put in, I would have felt it necessary to resign my
commission.

“ I was perfectly aware in taking the course I did in sign-
ing the treaty, that I should be subject to reproach. I wrote
to my friends in Canada from Washington that well I knew
the storm of obloquy that would meet me on my return, and
before even I crossed the border I was complimented with the
names of Judas Iscariot, Benedict Arnold, etc. The whole voca-

The Course Pursued.

i75

bulary of Billingsgate was opened against me, but here I am,
thank God, to-day, with the conviction that what I did was for
the best interests of Canada ; and after all the benefits I have
received at the hands of my countrymen, and after the confi-
dence that has been accorded me for so many years, I would
have been unworthy of that position and that confidence if I
were not able to meet reproach for the sake of my country-
men. (Cheers). I have met that reproach, and I have met it
in silence. I knew that a premature discussion would only
exasperate still more the feelings of those who were arrayed
against me, and of those who think more of their party than
their country. (Loud cheers). I do not speak particularly of
the honourable gentlemen opposite, but I say that the policy
of the Opposition is regulated by a power behind the throne,
which dictates what that policy must be. (Cheers). No one
ever saw a patriotic policy emanate from that source, except
on one occasion, and that was when that source was induced
by myself to forget party struggles and party feelings for the
common good of the country. (Cheers).

“ I have not said a word for twelve months ; I have kept
silence to this day, thinking better that the subject should be
discussed on its own merits. How eagerly was I watched !
If the Government should come out in favour of the treaty,
then it was to be taken as being a betrayal of the people
of Canada. If the Government should come out against
the treaty, then the first Minister was to be charged with
opposing the interests of the Empire. Which ever course
we might take, they were lying in wait, ready with some mode
of attack. But ‘ silence is golden,’ Mr. Speaker, and I kept
silence. I believe the sober second thought of this country
accords with the sober second thought of the Government,
and we come down here and ask the people of Canada,
through their representatives, to accept this treaty, to accept
it with all its imperfections, to accept it for the sake of peace,
and for the sake of the great Empire of which we form a part.
I now beg leave to introduce the Bill, and to state that I have
the permission of His Excellency to do so.”

Sir John Macdonald resumed his seat at 9.45 p.m., after hav-

176 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

mg spoken for four hours and a quarter, amid loud and con-
tinued applause from all parts of the House.

The debate in the Commons lasted until the morning of
the 17th, during which time forty-six members of the House
delivered speeches, and Mr. Blake and Mr. Bodwell proposed
amendments. Both were voted down, and Sir John’s motion
for the second reading of the Bill was carried, the division
lists showing 121 for and 55 against. The Government policy
was nobly sustained, each province of the Confederation show-
ing a majority in its favour.

CHAPTER XXX.

1872-74.

The Pacific Railway — Sir George Cartier’s Resolutions, April, 1872 — Mr. Mac-
Kenzie’s Opposition— Arrival of Lord Dufferin — Dissolution of Parliament —
General Election — Admission of Prince Edward Island — The Pacific Railway
Slander — Mr. Huntingdon’s Resolutions — Sir John Macdonald’s Motion for a
Special Committee — Reports of the Committee — The Oath’s Bill — Publication
of Letters — Sir Hugh Allan’s Affidavit — Adjournment to August 13th —
Memorial of the Opposition — Lord Dufferin’s reply — Prorogation — Sir John
Macdonald’s position — The Royal Commission — Meeting of Parliament — Mr.
Mackenzie’s Amendment to the Address — Sir John’s Speech — Resignation of
the Ministry — The Stolen Letters — Character of the Witnesses against the
Ministry — The Mackenzie Government — Dissolution of Parliament — General
Elections — Meeting of new Parliament, March 1874 — Pacific Railway Reso-
lutions — Other Bills — Prorogation.

T HE principal subject of discussion during the session
was the building of the Pacific Railway. During the
year 1871 two companies were formed for this purpose, one
called the Canada Pacific Railway Company, being under the
presidency of Sir Hugh Allan ; the other called the Inter-
Oceanic Railway Company, being under the presidency of
Honourable David Macpherson. The former was essentially
a Quebec company, the latter an Ontario company, and an
intense rivalry ensued. Each company obtained a charter,
the terms being the same, namely, that the capital should be
$10,000,000 in $100 shares, and that the company should not
be considered organized until $1,000,000 had been paid in.

“ Under the circumstances it was a difficult matter for the
Government to deal with either, and therefore it was deter-
mined to pass a general Act, giving the Governor in Council
power to treat with one or the other, or with the two amalga-
mated, or failing a satisfactory arrangement, to grant a charter
to a new company.

On April 26, 1872, Sir George Cartier moved the House
into Committee of the Whole on the question. He explained
that the terms of Union with British Columbia required that
the road should be commenced within two years, and finished
within ten. That the Government desired power to enter into
an agreement with a company to construct the road, or, if one
vol 11. 1 77 12

I

178 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

company could not undertake the whole road, then with
several companies for different parts. As the company could
not be expected to build without assistance, it was proposed
to give them 50,000,000 acres of land in alternate blocks,
twenty miles square on each side of the line — the alternate
blocks reserved being held for sale by the Government — and
a cash subsidy of about $30,000,000.

Mr. Alexander Mackenzie objected to the proposition
stating his conviction that it was impossible to con-
struct the road within the time mentioned, and that the
two companies were merely “ rings ” looking for plunder. On
the authority of persons he considered competent to judge, he
maintained that there were not more than 45,000,000 to
65,000,000 acres of good land in the North-West, and that
after the proposed quantity had been given to the company,
there would be little left for settlement. The powers proposed
to be conferred on the Government he considered extravagant
and dangerous, and that, if the resolutions were passed, the
House would be abdicating its functions, and leaving to the
Government matters over which it should retain control. He
moved amendments embodying his views as also did other
members of the Opposition, but the resolutions, with some
slight changes, were carried by a large majority.

On the second reading of the Bill, Mr. Mackenzie said that
he desired to get an expression of opinion from the House on
the subject of the land policy therein expressed. He con-
sidered that actual settlers ought to be allowed to enter upon
any of the blocks of land along the railway whether they were
reserved for the company or for the Government, and moved,
seconded by Mr. Dorion:

“ That the Bill be referred back to the Committee of the
Whole, with instructions so to amend the same as to provide
that actual settlers may enter upon any sold or unsold lands,
belonging either to the company to be entrusted with the
construction of the railway, or to the Government in the
alternate blocks reserved, on terms and conditions to be
made ; which terms and conditions should be subject to the
approval of Parliament ; and, further to provide that nothing

Arrival of Lord Dufferin..

i 79

therein contained shall prevent provision being made for
setting apart a portion of the land reserved by the Govern-
ment, in the alternate blocks or elsewhere, as free grants to
actual settlers.”

In reply, Sir John Macdonald said that Mr. Mackenzie
had first objected to the road, because the country was not
able to afford it, and now wanted to take away the best
security the country had to offer for the building of the road.
It was all nonsense to suppose that the people of Canada were
going to build the road for the comfort and convenience of
emigrants from the old country ; there was plenty of land
outside the twenty-mile belt which could be given free to set-
tlers, but this belt was looked on as the principal means of
paying for the construction of the road, and it was ridiculous
to propose to give it away.

The amendment was lost on division. Yeas, 33 ; nays,
101. Other amendments were also lost, and the Bill passed
through its second and third readings.

The last session of the first Parliament closed on June 14,
1872, when Lord Lisgar bade farewell to Canada and was
succeeded by the Earl of Dufferin, who arrived on the 25th.

Lord Dufferin belongs to an old Irish family, and was born
at Florence on June 21, 1826. He was educated at Eton and
Oxford, and succeeded to the title in 1841,, when only fifteen
years of age. In 1849 he was appointed a Lord in Waiting
to the Queen, which he held under Lord John Russell’s
Administration until 1852, and again filled the same office from
1854 to 1858, on the return of his party to power. In 1850
he was created an English baron, and took his seat in the
House of Lords as Lord Clandeboye. In 1855 he accom-
panied Lord John Russell, as an attache ’ to his special mission
to Vienna, and displayed such administrative ability, that, in
i860, he was appointed by Lord Palmerston, British Commis-
sioner to Syria, to enquire into the massacres of Christians
which had been taking place, a task which he accomplished
with so much satisfaction to the Government that he was
made K.C.B. for his services. In 1864 he was made Lord
Lieutenant of the County Down, and the same year took the

i8o

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

position of Under-Secretary of State for India, which he held
until 1866, when he became Under-Secretary of State for
War. In the same year he was offered the Governorship of
Bombay, but declined. On the return of the Liberal party to
power, in December, 1868, he was appointed Chancellor of
the Duchy of Lancaster and Paymaster, which he retained
until his appointment as Governor-General of Canada.

Shortly after the close of the session the Honourable
Alex. Morris was appointed Chief Justice of Manitoba, and
was succeeded as Minister of Inland Revenue by the Honour-
able Charles Tupper, whose place as President of the Council
was filled by the appointment of Honourable John O’Connor,
M.P. for Essex.

Parliament was dissolved by proclamation on July 15th
and writs for a new election issued, returnable on September
2nd.

In Kingston Sir John Macdonald was opposed by Mr.
John Carruthers, a wealthy retired merchant, who was
regarded as the strongest man the Reform party could bring
forward. The contest was waged with great energy and bit-
terness, and on polling day the excitement was intense. In
spite of the most strenuous efforts of his opponents, Sir John
was returned by a majority of 131.

In other parts of the Dominion, elections were carried on
with great vigour, the result being that the Government lost
strength in Ontario, gained in the Maritime Provinces, and
remained about the same in Quebec.

Sir Francis Hincks having retired on account of failing
health, was succeeded as Finance Minister by the Honourable
S. L. Tilley.

The first session of the second Parliament opened on
March 5, 1873, when the Honourable P. J. O. Chauveau was
appointed Speaker of the Senate, and Honourable James
Cockburn was elected without opposition as Speaker of the
House of Commons.

On May 16th, a message was received from His Excel-
lency forwarding the papers in connection with the proposed
admission of Prince Edward Island into the Union ; and, on

The Pacific Railway Scandal.

i 8 i

the 20th, Honourable Mr. Tilley introduced a series of resolu-
tions on which to base addresses to Her Majesty, praying for
the union of the island with the Dominion. He explained
that the total expense would be about $480,000, and the
receipts, calculated upon those of the preceeding year, about
$441,000. The Address was adopted and a Bill, providing for
the admission of the island, introduced and passed.

But the momentous event that occurred during the session
was that in connection with what is now known as the Pacific
Railway Scandal. After the close of the session of 1872 an
effort had been made to form an amalagamation between the
two companies, known as the Canada Pacific and the Oceanic
Railway Companies. A difficulty arose, however, as to the
presidency, which Sir Hugh Allan wished to have guaranteed
to himself, and the other company would not yield, desiring
it to be left to the directors to decide. The Government did
not care to favour one more than the other, and thereupon a
new company was formed called the Canadian Pacific Railway
Company, to which a charter was granted by letters patent
on February 5, 1873, the promoters being Sir Hugh Allan ?
Montreal ; Honourable A. G. Archibald, Halifax ; Honour-
able J. C. Beaubien, Quebec ; J. B. Beaudry, Montreal ; E. R.
Burpee, St. John ; F. W. Cumberland, Toronto ; Sandford
Fleming, Ottawa ; R. N. Hall, Sherbrooke ; Honourable J. S.
Helmcken, Victoria ; A. McDermot, Winnipeg ; D. Mclnnes,
Hamilton ; Walter Shanly, Montreal ; John Walker, London.

The capital of the new company was fixed at $10,000,000,
in $100 shares, which was not transferable for six years
without the consent of the Dominion Government and the
directors. Ten per cent, was to be at once paid up and
deposited with the Receiver-General. Work was to be
commenced at both ends simultaneously by July 20, 1873, and
completed by 1881. The land grant was to be 50,000,000 acres,
in alternate blocks of the same size, as reserved by the Govern-
ment. The land thus retained by the Government to be held
for twenty years at an upset price of $2.50 per acre. The
money subsidy to be $30,000,000 less any expense the Govern-
ment had been put to for surveys.

182

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

The terms were generally considered as satisfactory, and
much gratification was felt at the manner in which the stock
had been distributed all over the Dominion, and the provision
that it was not transferable for six years, which prevented the
possibility of the road falling into the hands of capitalists in
the United States.

On April 2nd, Mr. Huntingdon, from his place in Parlia-
ment, made the following charges against the Ministry :

“ That in anticipation of the legislation of last session as
to the Pacific Railway, an agreement was made between Sir
Hugh Allan, acting for himself and certain other Canadian
promoters, and G. W. McMullen, acting for certain United
States capitalists, whereby the latter agreed to furnish all the
funds necessary for the construction of the contemplated rail-
way, and to give the former a certain percentage of interest, in
consideration of their interest and position, the scheme agreed
on being ostensibly that of a Canadian company, with Sir
Hugh Allan at its head.

“ That the Government were aware that negotiations were
pending between these parties.

“ That subsequently an understanding was come to
between the Government and Sir Hugh Allan and Mr. Abbott,
M.P., that Sir Hugh Allan and his friends should advance a
large sum of money for the purpose of aiding the elections of
Ministers and their supporters at the ensuing general election,
and that he and his friends should receive the contract for the
construction of the railway.

“ That, accordingly, Sir Hugh Allan did advance a large
sum of money for the purpose mentioned, and at the solicita-
tion, and under the pressing instances of Ministers.

“ That part of the monies expended by Sir Hugh Allan in
connection with the obtaining of the Act of Incorporation and
Charter, were paid to him by the said United States capitalists
under the agreement with him ; it is

“ Ordered, that a committee of seven members be appointed
to enquire into all the circumstances connected with the nego-
tiations for the construction of the Pacific Railway, with the
legislation of last session on the subject, and with the granting

Mr. Huntingdon’s Resolutions.

i 8

of the charter to Sir Hugh Allan and others ; with power to
send for persons, papers, and records ; and with instructions
to report in full the evidence taken before, and all proceedings
of, said committee.”

The motion was read by Mr. Huntingdon without any
preface or remarks, and was received by the House in dead
silence. A division was called for, and the motion was lost by
a vote of 76 to 107.

The charges, however, made a profound sensation in the
House and in the country, and Sir John Macdonald, recogniz-
ing the necessity of meeting them at once, on the following
day addressed the House in these words :

“ Mr. Speaker, I beg to give notice that I will, on Tuesday
next, ask that the House shall appoint a Special Committee
of five, to be selected by the House for the purpose of
considering the subjects mentioned in the motion of the
honourable member for Shefford, yesterday. The Committee
shall be drawn by the House, and, if need be, shall have
special power given to them to sit in recess, and, if need
be, a Royal Commission shall be issued for the purpose
of giving them additional powers.”

On April 8th, Sir John Macdonald made the motion,
of which he had given notice, and, in doing so, explained that
the Government had voted down the motion of Mr. Hunting-
don, not because they were afraid of enquiry, but because they
took the motion as one of want of confidence. The Govern-
ment courted the fullest enquiry, and were- prepared to
do anything in their power to facilitate the work of the Com-
mittee. The members of the Committee appointed by the
House were Messrs. Blanchet, Blake, Dorion, McDonald
(Pictou), Cameron (Cardwell).

On April 17th, the Honourable J. H. Cameron, Chairman
of the Committee, presented the first report of the Committee,
recommending that a Bill be introduced empowering the
Committee to examine witnesses under oath. This Bill passed
the House on the 21st, the Senate on the 29th, and received
His Excellency’s assent on May 3rd. On May 5th Mr.
Cameron presented another report, covering a series of resolu-

1 84 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

tions, to the effect that, owing to the absence in England
of Sir George Cartier and Mr. J. J. C. Abbott — both material
witnesses to the investigation — the Committee should adjourn
until July 2nd, if Parliament should then be in session ; that
the proceedings of the meeting should be secret ; that the
Committee should be empowered to sit at such place or places
as may be found expedient. That part respecting the secrecy
of the meetings was not pressed, and the balance came up for
discussion on May 6th, on the motion of Mr. Cameron
to adopt the resolutions. The debate that ensued was very
acrimonious, and resulted in an amendment being moved by
the Honourable A. A. Dorion, which, after reciting the
original motion of Mr. Huntingdon, went on as follows :

“ That since the appointment of the Committee, when the
unanimous feeling of the House was, that the enquiry should
be actively prosecuted during the present session, nothing had
occurred to justify the proposed adjournment of the Com-
mittee to July 2nd ; but, on the contrary, the interests cf the
country imperatively demand that the enquiry should be pros-
ecuted without further delay.”

Lost on division — yeas 76 ; nays 107.

On May 1 5th Mr. Huntingdon made some further state-
ments and attempted to read extracts from some letters, but
was ruled out of order by the Speaker. He then moved that
inasmuch as he was credibly informed that certain original
documents, of the utmost importance in proving the charges
made by him, were in the hands of a trustee under circum-
stances which rendered it exceedingly doubtful wdiether they
might not be placed beyond the reach of the Committee before
it met again on July 2nd, the Committee be ordered to meet
at eleven o’clock next morning, when he (Mr. Huntingdon)
would disclose the name of the trustee with a view to having
him summoned to produce all documents in his possession
relating to the enquiry. The motion was adopted.

The next day, Mr. Cameron’s motion to permit the Com-
mittee to sit, even though the House was not sitting, was
carried by a vote of 10 1 to 66.

It being the rule that when Parliament is prorogued all

LADY MOUNT-STEPHEN.

Disallowance of the Oath’s Bill.

187

committees expire with it, to overcome the difficulty, 011 May
21st, Sir John Macdonald moved “That when the House
adjourns on Friday next, it do stand adjourned until Wednes-
day, August 13th, next,” which was carried without discussion.
On the 23rd His Excellency gave assent to all the Bills passed
during the session, and Parliament adjourned. Before doing
so, Sir John replied to a question from Mr. Mackenzie that
the meeting would only be pro forma to receive the report of
the Committee, which could then be printed and distributed
during recess, and that he did not think it would be necessary
for any more than the two Speakers to be present as no
business would be transacted. Mr. Holton thought that it
would be necessary for a quorum of the House to be present,
to which Sir John answered that if so, a sufficient number
could be got in the neighbourhood of Ottawa without bringing
members from a distance.

When the Bill, giving the Committee power to take
evidence under oath, came before the Imperial Government,
they decided that it was beyond the power of the Canadian
Parliament to enact such a measure, and it was accordingly
disallowed. This was made known on July 1st by an extra
of the Canada Gazette. On the Committee assembling next
day Mr. Cameron announced this fact, and a motion by Mr.
McDonald (Picton), to the effect “ that, inasmuch as the
House had instructed the Committee to take evidence on oath
and the Bill authorizing them to do so had been disallowed,
the Committee could not proceed without further instructions
from the House,” was carried. Immediately after the adjourn-
ment Mr. Cameron read a letter addressed to him, as chair-
man of the Committee, by Sir John Macdonald, offering to
issue a Royal Commission to the members of the Committee
if they would continue their labours, the Commission being
instructed to report to the House. This offer was declined
by Messrs. Dorion and Blake, and the Committee adjourned
until August 13th.

On the morning of July 4th a profound sensation was
created in the country by the simultaneous publication in the
Toronto Globe and Montreal Herald of seventeen letters and

i88

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

three telegrams addressed by Sir Hugh Allan to Messrs. C.
M. Smith, G. W. McMullen and other American capitalists,
which disclosed the fact that, in spite of the opposition of the
Government, he had for a long time retained his connection
with these men and was most anxious to continue to do so,
and had spent a large sum of money in the furtherance of the
interests of his company and proposed giving away the
enormous amount of $850,000 of stock to certain gentlemen
mentioned in his letter, and spending the further sum of
$100,000 in cash in a manner not disclosed, but for which he
“ cou’d not get receipts/ 5 The letters were evidently intended
as confidential and were written in that free and unre-
strained manner that men may be expected to adopt when
communicating with others in whom they repose unlimited
confidence as men of honour.

The letters were commented upon by the Globe in very
strong language, and the extreme view given “ that the man
who occupies the position of First Minister is hopelessly involved
in an infamous and corrupt conspiracy. 55 So far from any
such fact being disclosed by the letters, the very contrary
opinion would be formed by any person reading them in an
impartial and judicial manner. In the whole seventeen letters
his name appears but three times, once with regard to an
appointment to meet him, a second time with regard to a
coolness which Sir Hugh thought had sprung up between him
and Sir George Cartier, and a third time when Sir Hugh
informed Mr. McMullen that Sir John and Sir George Cartier
had long ago made up their minds not to give the charter
either to his company or to Mr. D. L. Macpherson’s, but to
form another company and have the work done under Govern-
ment control.

Sir Hugh Allan lost no time in meeting these letters, and
in the Montreal Gazette of the following morning (May 5th)
there appeared a very long and exhaustive affidavit made by
him. In this he gives a short history of the formation and pro-
gress of his company, the negotiations with the Inter-Oceanic
and his connection with American capitalists. As Mr. Hunt-
ingdon’s charges against the Government were in connection

Sir Hugh Allan’s Affidavit.

189

with the latter, we will give such extracts as will explain
Sir Hugh’s position and views.

“ That notwithstanding that the Bill, which was so intro-
duced, contemplated by its terms the exclusion of foreigners
I did not feel, by any means, convinced that the Government
would insist upon any such condition, believing as I did,
and do, that such a proposition was impolitic and unnecessary.
I did not, therefore, feel justified in entirely breaking off
my connection with the American associates, although I
acquainted them with the difficulty which might arise if the
Government took the same position which the majority of
the people, with whom I conversed at Ottawa, appeared
to do. .......

But, in point of fact, when the discussions as to the mode
in which the company should be formed, were entered upon
with the Government, late in the autumn, I came to under-
stand decisively, that they could not be admitted, and I
notified them of the fact, and that the negotiations must
cease between us, by a letter which has not been published
in the Herald to-day, but which was in the following terms : —

Montreal, October 24, 1872.

My Dear Mr. McMullen. — No action has yet (as far as I know)
been taken by the Government in the matter of the Pacific Railroad.
The opposition of the Ontario party will, I think, have the effect of
shutting out our American friends from any participation in the road
and I apprehend that all negotiation is at an end. It is still uncertain
how it (the contract) will be given, but in any case the Government
seem inclined to exact a declaration that no foreigners will have,
directly or indirectly, any interest in it. But everything is in a state
of uncertainty, and I think it is unnecessary for you to visit New York
on this business at present, or at all, till you hear what the result is
likely to be. Public sentiment seems to be decided that the road
shall be built by Canadians only. Yours truly,

(Signed) Hugh Allan.

Geo McMullen, Esq.,

Picton, Ont.

“These sworn statements of Sir Hugh Allan are a perfect
answer to Mr. Huntingdon’s first two resolutions. Respecting
the third and fourth which charged that an understanding

190

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

was come to between the Government and Sir Hugh Allan,
that the latter and his friends ‘ should advance a large sum of
money for the purpose of aiding the elections of Ministers
and their supporters at the ensuing general election, and that
he and his friends should receive that contract for the con-
struction of the railway. That, accordingly, Sir Hugh Allan
did advance a large sum of money for the purpose mentioned
and at the solicitation and under the pressing instance of
Ministers.’ Sir Hugh Allan swears : —

‘“From that time also, communication between myself
and my former associates ceased, having finally been broken
off by myself as soon as I ascertained the desire of the
Government. And I state further, positively, that no money
derived from any fund or from any of my former American
associates was expended in assisting my friends or the friends
of the Government at the recent general elections.

“ ‘ That with regard to the construction which appears
to be intended to be placed upon the statements in the letter
referred to, as to the preliminary expenses, connected with
the charter, I state most positively and explicitly that I never
made any arangement or came to any understanding of any
kind or description with the Government or any of its mem-
bers, as to the payment of any sum to any one, or in any
way whatever, in consideration of receiving the contract for
the Canadian Pacific Railway.’ ”

Sir Hugh Allan then states that he had expended sums
approaching those mentioned in his letters, as he conceived
he had a perfect right to do, and repeats his denial that any
portion of those sums of money were paid to the members
of the Government, or were received by them or on their
behalf, directly or indirectly, as a consideration in any form
for any advantage to him in connection with the Pacific Rail-
way.

The statement in the fifth resolution is only a repetition
of that made in the second and is positively denied by the
affidavit.

Sir Hugh’s sworn statement was considered satisfactory,
and public interest in the matter became much abated. It

Memorial Against Prorogation.

191

was revived and increased, however, a fortnight later, by a
letter published by Mr. McMullen, which contained copies of
some letters and telegrams from Sir George Cartier and Sir
John Macdonald which indicated that Sir Plugh Allan had
advanced large sums of money for election purposes. The
conclusion sought to be drawn from these documents was that
they covered an agreement with the Government to grant the
charter of the Pacific Railway to Sir Hugh Allan in compen-
sation for the assistance thus given. This conclusion was
denied on the authority of the Ministry, in an editorial of the
Montreal Gazette , published July 21st, which promised also
“ that at the earliest possible moment the whole of the facts
and circumstances will be laid before a tribunal competent to
receive evidence respecting them under oath.”

As August 13th approached, it became evident that the
Opposition were determined to prevent the meeting of Parlia-
ment being a formal one for the purpose of receiving the
report of the Special Committee, and then being prorogued
according to the well-understood arrangement made at the
time of adjournment in May. They were anxious to proceed
with the investigation without any further delay, but it was
urged in reply that in a matter so nearly concerning the
honour of Ministers, it would be most unjust to admit testi-
mony which was not given under the sanctity of an oath, and
with the fear of punishment for perjury before the eyes of the
witnesses.

On the appointed day His Excellency proceeded to the
Senate Chamber for the purpose of proroguing Parliament,
but previously received a deputation of members who, through
their chairman, Mr. R. J. Cartwright, presented the following
memorial :

“ The undersigned members of the House of Commons of
Canada desire respectfully to approach your Excellency and
humbly to represent that more than four months have elapsed
since the Honourable Mr. Huntingdon made, from his place
in the House, grave charges of corruption against your
Excellency’s constitutional advisers in reference to the Pacific
Railway contract ; that although the House has appointed a

192

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

Committee to inquire into the said charges, the proceedings of
this Committee have on various grounds, been postponed, and
the enquiry has not yet taken place ; that the honour of the
country imperatively requires that no further delay should
take place in the investigation of charges of so grave a char-
acter, and which it is the duty and undoubted right and
privilege of the Commons to prosecute.

“ The undersigned are deeply impressed with the convic-
tion that any attempt to postpone this enquiry, or to remove
it from the jurisdiction of the Commons, would create the
most intense dissatisfaction, and they, therefore, pray your
Excellency not to prorogue Parliament until the House of
Commons shall have an opportunity of taking such steps as it
may deem necessary and expedient with reference to this
important matter.”

His Excellency in reply stated that he regretted as much
as any one the delay which had taken place, and mentioned
the causes which had contributed to this, especially the Oath’s
Bill which had been disallowed by the Imperial Government,,
and thereby prevenced the evidence being taken in the solemn
manner contemplated. He then continued: “You then pro-
ceed to urge me, on grounds which are very fairly and forcibly
stated, to decline the advice which has been unanimously
tendered me by my responsible Ministers, and to refuse to
prorogue Parliament, in other words you require me to dismiss
them from my Councils, for, gentlemen, you must be aware
that this would be the necessary result of my assenting to
your recommendation. Upon what grounds would I be justi-
fied in taking so grave a step ? What guarantee can you
afford me that the Parliament of the Dominion would endorse
such an act of personal interference on my part? You, your-
selves, gentlemen, do not form an actual moiety of the House
of Commons, and I have no means therefore, of ascertaining
that the majority of that body subscribe to the opinion you
have enounced. Again, to what should I have to appeal in
justification of my conduct ? It is true grave charges have
been preferred against these gentlemen, charges which I
admit require the most searching investigation, but, as you

Lord Dufferin’s View.

193 '

yourselves remark in your memorandum, the truth of these
accusations still remains untested. One of the authors of this
correspondence which has made so painful an impression on
the public, has admitted that many of his statements were
hasty and inaccurate, and has denied on oath the correctness
of the deductions drawn from them. Various assertions
contained in the narrative of the other have been positively
contradicted. Is the Governor-General, upon the strength of
such evidence as this, to drive from his presence gentlemen
who for years have filled the highest offices of state, and in
whom, during the recent session, Parliament has repeatedly
declared its continued confidence ? It is true certain docu-
ments of grave significance have lately been published in the
newspapers in connection with these matters, in regard to
which the fullest explanation must be given, but no proof has
yet been adduced which necessarily connects them with the
culpable transactions of which it is asserted they formed a
part, however questionable they may appear, as placed in
juxtaposition with the correspondence to which they have
been appended by the person who has possessed himself of
them. Under these circumstances what right has the Gover-
nor-General, on his personal responsibility, to proclaim to
Canada — nay, not only to Canada, but to America and
Europe, as such a proceeding on his part must necessarily do,
that he believes his Ministers guilty of the crimes alleged
against them ? ” He then referred to the understanding under
which Parliament had adjourned, and announced his intention
of issuing a Royal Commission, and that Parliament would be
summoned in about ten weeks to receive the report.

When the Commons met, Mr. Mackenzie read a motion
declaring that it was the imperative duty of the House to have
a full investigation into the charges ; that the assumption of the
duty by any tribunal appointed by the Ministry would be a
gross breach of the privileges of the House, and that it was
highly reprehensible for any person to presume to advise His
Excellency to prorogue Parliament until it had taken action
in the matter of enquiry. Before he had proceeded far, Black
Rod appeared and was greeted by strong marks of disappro-

13

VOL II.

194

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

bation from the Opposition. The Speaker at once arose and
was followed to the Senate Chamber by the Conservative
members, the Liberals retaining their seats. Subsequently
they organized a meeting in the Railway Committee room,
and passed resolutions similar in effect to the memorial pre-
sented to His Excellency.

The position in which Sir John Macdonald and his Gov-
ernment were placed was most embarrassing. Upon the
charges being made he had at once moved for a Committee of
Enquiry, which Committee was appointed by the House and
not by the Ministry. It had met and asked for power to take
evidence under oath which was at once granted. Then finding
that the two principal witnesses were in England, it had with
the consent of the House, adjourned to a time at which they
might be expected to return. On re-assembling they found
that the “ Oath’s Bill ” had been disallowed and again ad-
journed for new instructions from the House. When Parlia-
ment re-assembled it was in accordance with an understanding
that it should be pro forma, and but few of the Government
supporters were present. The Opposition on the other hand
had assembled in full strength, and if the Ministry had advised
His Excellency to depart from the understanding as to proro-
gation and meet for business, they would have been met by
an adverse majority and any motion of condemnation or want
of confidence could have been carried. If, on the other hand,
they had summoned the full strength of their supporters, and
the House had proceeded to business, power to take evidence
on oath could not have been granted to the Committee, for
that had already been declared ultra vires , and if the enquiry
had gone on it must have been without the protection of
solemnly sworn testimony, and the act of the House in passing
the Oath’s Bill, and the utterances of *His Excellency show,
beyond dispute, that on all sides it was considered that in
so grave a matter the Ministry were entitled to this. The
course adopted in advising the issue of a Royal Commission
would therefore seem a very proper one, and had it been
accepted by the Opposition a thorough investigation could
have been made, and a judgment given which would have

A Royal Commission Issued.

95

either cleared the Ministry or for ever driven out of public life
those who were found guilty. The report was directed to be
made to the House, and if there had been any suspicion of
an undue leaning towards the accused Ministers, it was in the
power of Parliament to have refused to accept it, and to have
taken such other steps as the maintenance of its dignity might
seem to require.

On the day following prorogation (August 14th), His
Excellency the Governor-General issued a Royal Commission
to Judges Polette and Gowan and ex-Judge Day, three gen-
tlemen of unblemished reputation and high legal knowledge.
Lord Dufferin thus speaks of them in his despatch to the
Colonial Secretary : Only one of them is personally known to

me, viz : Judge Day, who, as Chancellor of McGill University,
received me on my visit to that institution. Since that we
have improved our acquaintance, and I have no hesitation
in stating, both from what I know and have learned, that I
have every confidence in Judge Day’s high sense of honour,
capacity and firmness. I have also considered it my duty to
satisfy myself as to the qualifications of the other two gentle-
men with whom he is associated, and I am in a position
to inform your lordship that they are generally regarded as
persons of unblemished integrity, sound judgment, and profes-
sional ability, while the length of time all three have been
removed from politics frees them from the suspicion of
political partizanship.”

The Commission assembled at Ottawa on August 18th,
and commenced the examination of witnesses on September
4th. Mr. Huntingdon refused to recognize, or to appear
before them, and would not furnish the names of witnesses.
Following his example the following also failed to obey the
summons to attend : G. W. McMullen, C. M. Smith, Honour-
able A. B. Foster, Honourable Thomas McGreevy, John A.
Perkins and George Norris, jr. Thirty-six witnesses appeared
and gave testimony. Sir John Macdonald, Sir Francis
Hincks, Mr. Langevin, and other members of the Government
were examined at length, and declared in the most positive
terms that the charge, that the Government, or any members

196 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

of it, had made a contract with Sir Hugh Allan, or any one
else, with regard to the Pacific Railway, in consideration of
furnishing funds for election purposes, was absolutely false.
That Sir Hugh Allan had contributed to the funds for election
expenses was not denied, but he explained his reasons for
doing so to be that he approved of the railway and canal
policy of the Government, which was advantageous to his
business, and desired to see them returned to power, in prefer-
ence to the Liberals, whose policy, as indicated by their speeches^
he found would be injurious to the country, and especially
detrimental to his business. So far from the Government
having sold him the contract, Sir John Macdonald had
positively refused to sanction the terms of a letter written
to him by Sir George Cartier, and which contained only
an expression of opinion as to the probable course the Govern-
ment would take with regard to the amalgamation ot the
two companies and the contract to be granted. This letter
was as follows :

Montreal, July so, 1872.

Dear Sir Hugh :

I enclose you copies of telegrams received from Sir John A. Mac-
donald, and with reference to their contents I would say that, in my
opinion, the Governor-in-Council will approve of the amalgamation of
your company with the Inter-Oceanic Company, under the name of
the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, the Provisional Board of the
amalgamated company to be composed of seventeen members, of
which four shall be named from the Province of Quebec by the
Canada Pacific Railway Company ; four from the Province of Ontario
by the Inter-Oceanic Railway Company ; and the remainder by the
Government; the amalgamated company to have the power specified
in the tenth section of the Act incorporating the Canada Pacific Rail-
way Company, etc., the agreement of amalgamation to be executed
between the companies, within two months from this date.

The Canada Pacific Company might take the initiative in procur-
ing the amalgamation ; and if the Inter-Oceanic Company should not
execute an agreement of amalgamation upon such terms, and within
such limited time, I think the contemplated arrangements should be
made with the Canada Pacific Railway under its charter.

Upon the subscription and payment on account of stock being
made as required by the Act of last session respecting the Canada
Pacific Railway Company, I have no doubt but that the Governor-in-
Council will agree with the company for the construction and working

Want of Confidence Motion.

9 7

of the Canadian Pacific Railway with such branches as shall be agreed
upon, and will grant to the company all $uch subsidies and assistance
as they are empowered to do by the Government Act. I believe all
the advantages which the Government Act empowers the Government
to confer upon any company, will be required to enable the works con-
templated to be successfully carried through, and I am convinced that
they will be accorded to the company to be formed by amalgamation,
or to the Canada Pacific Company, as the case may be. I would add
that, as I approve of the measures to which I have referred in this
letter, I shall use my best endeavours to have them carried into
effect.

Very truly yours,

(Sgd.) Geo. E. Cartier.

Sir John’s views as to this letter having been communicated
to Sir Hugh Allan, it was immediately returned by that
gentleman to Sir George Cartier.

Parliament re-assembled on October 23rd, when Sir John
Macdonald at once laid upon the table messages from
His Excellency the Governor-General, transmitting all the
papers connected with the case, and also the report of
the Royal Commission. The great debate took place upon
the second paragraph of the Address, which was as follows :

“ That we thank His Excellency for his statement that,
in accordance with the intimation given by him at the close of
last session, he has caused Parliament to be summoned at the
earliest moment after the receipt of the report of the Commis-
sioners, appointed by His Excellency, to enquire into certain
matters connected with the Canadian Pacific Railway.”

As soon as it was read, Mr. Mackenzie rose, and in a
lengthy and bitter speech reviewed the history of the railway
and the policy of the Government in connection with it, and
argued that the recent developments had clearly shewn that
the Government were determined to carry the elections at all
hazards, and had used the Pacific Railway contract as the
means to obtain the money to gain their ends. He concluded
by moving, seconded by Mr. Coffin :

“ That the following words be added to the paragraph,

* And we have to acquaint His Excellency that by their course
in reference to the investigation of the charges preferred by

98 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

Mr. Huntingdon, in his place in this House, and under
the facts disclosed in the evidence laid before us, His Exceb
lency’s advisers have merited the censure of this House/”

Mr. Mackenzie was followed by Dr. Tupper, Mr. Hunting-
don, Sir Francis Hincks, Mr. James Macdonald and many
others, until November 3rd, when Sir John Macdonald rose tc
speak. His speech lasted for five and a half hours, and
covered every point that had been raised. It is too long to
be given here in full, and much of its force would be lost by
cutting it down, we will, therefore, only give the concluding
portion.

“ The Government never gave Sir Hugh Allan any
contract that I am aware of. We never gave him any
contract in which he had a controlling influence. We had
formed a committee of thirteen men, chosen carefully and
painfully, for the purpose of controlling Sir Hugh Allan, and
preventing him from having any undue influence. We
promised, we provided that not one of the Board should hold
more than $100,000 of the stock ; that not one single man
should have any interest in the contract whatever. I put it ta
your own minds. There were thirteen gentlemen — Sir Hugh
Allan and others — incorporated by that charter. That charter
— study it, take it home with you. Is there any single power,
privilege or advantage given to Sir Hugh Allan with that
contract that has not been given equally to the other twelve ?
(Cheers). It is not pretended that any of the other twelve
paid money for their positions. It is not contended that the
gentlemen gave anything further than their own persona},
feelings, might dictate. (Cheers). You cannot name a man
of these thirteen that has got any advantage over the other,
except that Sir Hugh Allan has his name down first on the
paper. (Cheers). Can anyone believe that the Government
is guilty of the charges made against them ? I call upon
anyone who does to read that charter. Is there anything in
that contract? If there is a word in that charter which
derogates from the rights of Canada ; if there is any undue
privilege, or right, or preponderance, given to anyone of these
thirteen directors, I say, Mr. Speaker, I am condemned. But,

Resignation of the Government.

199

sir, I commit myself, the Government commits itself to the
hands of this House ; and far beyond this House, it commits
itself to the country at large. (Loud cheers). We have faith-
fully done our duty. We have fought the battle of Confeder-
ation. We have fought the battle of Union. We have had
party strife setting province against province ; and more than
all, we have had, in the greatest province, the preponderating
province of the Dominion, every prejudice and sectional feel-
ing that could be arrayed against us. I have been the victim
of that conduct to a great extent ; but I have fought the
battle of Confederation, the battle of Union, the battle of the
Dominion of Canada. I throw myself upon this House ; I
throw myself upon this country ; I throw myself upon
posterity ; and I know, that notwithstanding the many failings
of my life, I shall have the voice of this country and this
House rallying around me. (Cheers). And, sir, if I am
mistaken in that, I can confidently appeal to a higher court —
to the court of my own conscience, and to the court of
posterity. (Cheers). I leave it with this House with every
confidence. I am equal to either fortune. I can see past the
decision of this House, either for or against me ; but whether
if be for or against me, I know — and it is no vain boast for me
to say so, for even my enemies will admit that I am no boaster
— that there does not exist in Canada a man who has given
more of his time, more of his heart, more of his wealth, or
more of his intellect and power, such as they may be, for the
good of this Dominion of Canada.” (Loud and prolonged
cheers).

Other speeches were made, but it soon became evident
that the strength of the Government was being sapped.
Whether or not there was any truth in the rumours with which
the air was filled, of promises to prominent men, or of other
human devices brought to bear on the weak-hearted and weak
kneed ; or that there had set in one of those irresistible tenden-
cies on the part of popular feeling to rush, unthinkingly and
unreasonably, on the spur of the moment, to hasty and unjust
conclusions without properly weighing the evidence, it is need-
less to enquire. The majority of Sir John’s friends stood

200

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

nobly by him, but not all, and, when the party whips whispered
that, if a vote were taken, the amendment would probably be
carried by a majority of two, on November 5th, he placed
his resignation and that of his Ministry in the hands of the
Governor-General. The unfairness and falsity of the charges
against him have long since been recognized. Public opinion,
after mature deliberation, and on sober second thought,
pronounced him “ not guilty/’ and not only restored him to
place and power, but established him so firmly that never
again during his lifetime was he disturbed.

In the above narrative of this very eventful period in Sir
John Macdonald’s life we have confined ourselves to a mere
statement of facts, but, before leaving the subject, it is proper
that we should refer to the means by which it was sought to
obtain incriminating evidence against him and his Ministry.
Mr. Huntingdon was the accuser, and his right-hand man was
George W. McMullen, a person to whom the papers did not
hesitate to apply every epithet which could convey contempt,
as a man void of principle, and an unscrupulous adventurer.
It was with him that Sir Hugh Allan conducted the corres-
pondence respecting the interests of the American capitalists
in his proposed company, and, when he thought that Sir
Hugh had committed himself in such a way that the
publication of his letters would damage him before the Cana-
dian public, he went to him and demanded blackmail for their
return. Sir Hugh, believing that his interests required Mr.
McMullen’s silence, paid him a sum of money, and agreed to
pay him the further sum of $17,000 for the letters, after the
session was over. But Mr. McMullen never got this $17,000,
and why ? Can there be any doubt of the story which was
accepted at the time, that he got a higher bid and, for
increased gold, betrayed Sir Hugh, and sold his letters to be
used against him ? In addition to the letters and telegrams
which appeared on July 4th, other documents were afterwards
published, and how were these obtained ? By paying $1,500
to Mr. Abbott’s confidential clerk to steal them from his
desk. Sir Hugh Allan’s office was also entered at night time
and copies made of telegrams he had received, and even the

The Accusers of the Government.

201

Post Office was not safe, for a letter from Sir John Macdonald
to Mr. J. H. Pope was opened and published. No reference
to these discreditable occurrences has been made in the state-
ment given above of the Pacific Railway Slander, because it
was desired to make the narrative as little heated as possible,
but now they can be rightly brought in to emphasize the
unfair treatment accorded to Sir John Macdonald on the
strength of documents obtained in this dishonourable way, and
in accepting the unsworn statement of one man of more than
doubtful character, to the exclusion of the sworn testimony of
thirty-six men of recognized high character and unquestioned
honour.

The character of the men who were represented as Ameri-
can capitalists, and upon whose testimony Mr. Huntingdon
and his friends relied to fix upon Sir John Macdonald and
his Ministers a charge of selling a contract and dragging
the honour of Canada in the dust, can best be gathered from
an editorial article from the Chicago Times reproduced in the
Toronto Mail of March 5, 1877.

“ There is a notorious family in Chicago — the McMullens.
They came here from Canada. They now teach the public
morality, honesty, and piety in an unfortunate attempt at a
newspaper called The Post. The public has some interest
in these notorious persons at the present time because they
are endeavouring to fasten themselves upon the city treasury.

“ These men have a history which is interesting, even to
persons not much concerned as to who gets the city printing.

“ George W. McMullen, the brass and brains of the family
is the man who achieved distinction in connection with the
Canadian Pacific Credit Mobilier. This was a gigantic
swindle. Its purpose was identical with that of Oakes Ames
in the swindle of the same name in the United States.
McMullen did considerable work in the Canadian Credit
Mobilier and was caught and exposed. He threatened libel
suits upon several newspapers in Canada which characterized
him in terms equivalent to perjurer and blackmailer, and
when the newspapers challenged him to bring his case to
action, he failed to appear. The charges remain on record.

202

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

They will never be brought to trial by McMullen. Sir Hugh
Allen was also involved in this swindle. A number of letters
passed between him and G. W. McMullen mutually com-
promising. Allan had a character to lose, but McMullen
had the letters. The Toronto Mail asserted that McMullen
blackmailed Sir Hugh as the condition of not making the
damaging disclosures public. The anti-Allan faction knew
that the letters existed, and they thought they knew the
material McMullen was made of. Overtures for the purchase
of the letters were quietly begun, and, after dallying between
the crazed Sir Hugh, who is said to have offered all he was
worth to get the letters, and the other faction who put the
price up higher McMullen took the better bargain.

“ The Mail characterized McMullen as an eavesdropper,
a listener at key-holes, a loathsome spy who sat at men’s
tables, broke their bread and ate their meat, and then slunk
away to sell the secrets obtained under cover of hospitality
and pledge of confidential intercourse. That journal publicly
branded him as a blackmailer and a perjurer, and McMullen,
after a pretence of bringing a suit against the Mail, never
faced it in court. In the investigation instituted by the
Dominion Parliament into the Credit Mobilier swindle,
McMullen was awarded immunity against conviction for
alleged perjury on condition that he betrayed his associates
in the conspiracy.

“ Meanwhile this honest and industrious family were
engaged in a dubious enterprise in Chicago. They ran a
bank and the famous State Insurance Company. George
C. Smith and the McMullens ran the bank. The McMullens
and George C. Smith ran the State Insurance Company.
After the fire, George W. McMullen, on behalf of the bank,
hurried around to the policy-holders, told them the insurance
company was ‘ bust/ and that they would be extremely lucky
if they got ten cents on the dollar, and, being a generous man,
he offered them ten cents on the dollar. Many of them
accepted — poor workingmen, widows, washerwomen, and such
other victims as had been entrapped into giving their money
into the swindle in the first place. Then the managers of

The Accusers of the Government.

203

the insurance company — the McMullens and Smith — had a
meeting, and ordered themselves to pay to the bank in full
the 10 per cent, policies ; and then the bank managers —
Smith and the McMullens — put the 90 per cent, in their
pockets. It was only a few days ago that the robbed and
swindled policy-holders had their latest meeting, to hear
their attorney’s report as to the progress made in getting
the money back.

“ When the State Insurance swindle was brought into
court, there was some extraordinary developments. The
policy-holders insisted that the bank ledger should be pro-
duced, in order that the money stolen from them, while they
were houseless and homeless, might be traced and recovered.
The court gave the order. It was then alleged that the bank
ledger was lost. The information was conveyed to the policy-
holders that it was not lost, that it was in the bank the day
the court sent for it, and that D. S. McMullen had the book.
D. S. McMullen was examined. His story surpassed any of
Munchausen’s. He swore that one day, while riding alone,
he left his buggy and went into a house. When he returned
to his vehicle he found therein a package wrapped in paper
and sealed. He admitted that it was of the form, and size,
and style of the bank-ledger, and that it was sealed with
the seal of the bank. An anonymous note laid upon it
requested him to take charge of the package for a friend who
would some time call for it. He did not know the writing
did not save the note, even to identify the friend when he
should call again. Some time subsequently he received
another anonymous note requesting him to bring the package
in his buggy to a certain corner of the Court House square-
to leave it in his buggy, go away from the vehicle, and the
owner of the package would get it during his absence. He
complied with the request. Didn’t lpok to see who took it
away. Didn’t know what became of it. Had no idea who
the friend was, or whether it was the same person who had
so impetuously deposited in his buggy the mysterious pack-
age, in the first place. The ledger was not found, and the
victims of the State Insurance swindle know no more to-day

204

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

than they did then, what became of their money, except that
it passed into the pockets of thieves. Judge Drummond
delivered some remarks concerning D. S. McMullen’s truth-
fulness, which justify the suspicion that he is a worthy brother
of George W. McMullen. In fact, Judge Drummond deliv-
ered a eulogy upon the McMullen family, which rarely falls
to the lot of members of the human race. The unfortunate
policy-holders who sold out to George W. McMullen and his
agents for ten cents on the dollar thought they had fared
badly ; but the still more unfortunate policy-holders who
refused to sell, got less, and none of them are likely to recover
a cent, even with the aid of the court.”

It is unnecessary to give the balance of the article, which
deals with other members of the family, showing that another
brother had been indicted for perjury and fraud against the
United States, while occupying the position of gauger, and that
still another one had been before the grand jury in connec-
tion with an attempt to obtain the city printing by bribery.

It is not to be wondered at that when the big-hearted
Canadian public learned all these facts and came to know
the true inwardness of the plot against Sir John Macdonald,
that they should hasten to restore him to that place in their
hearts, which he had previously enjoyed, and by their votes
at the polls, testify to the renewal of their confidence.

On November 7th, the new Ministry was sworn in as
follows :

Hon. Alex. Mackenzie, Premier and Minister of Public Works.

Hon. Antoine A. Dorion, Minister of Justice.

Hon. Albert J. Smith, Minister of Marine and Fisheries.

Hon. Luc Letellier de St. Just, Minister of Agriculture.

Hon. Richard John Cartwright, Minister of Finance.

Hon. David Laird, Minister of the Interior.

Hon. David Christie, Secretary of State.

Hon. Isaac Burpee, Minister of Customs,

Hon. Donald A. Macdonald, Postmaster-General.

Hon. Thomas Coffin, Receiver-General.

Hon. Telesphore Fournier, Minister of Inland Revenue.

Hon. William Ross, Minister of Militia.

Hon. Edward Blake, without portfolio.

Hon. Richard W. Scott, without portfolio.

Pacific Railway Resolutions.

205

On January 9, 1874, Honourable David Christie was
appointed Speaker of the Senate, and was succeeded as
Secretary of State by the Honourable R. W. Scott. On Jan-
uary 20th, Honourable L. S. Huntingdon was appointed Presi-
dent of the Council.

Mr. Mackenzie, probably feeling that he could not rely
with certainty upon a Parliament elected under a Conserva-
tive Government, and which had given that Government a
large majority up to the time of their resignation, resolved
upon advising a dissolution, which the Governor-General con-
ceded, and on January 2nd writs for a new election were
issued. The result was that he completely swept the country,
and came back with a majority of about eighty.

The new Parliament met on March 26th, when Honourable
T. W. Anglin was unanimously elected Speaker of the
Commons.

On May 12th Mr. Mackenzie moved the House into Com-
mittee of the Whole on his Pacific Railway Resolutions, the
main points about which were, that the road was to be
divided into four sections, viz : First , from Lake Nipissing to
the west end of Lake Superior ; Second , from No. 1 to Red
River ; Third , from Red River to a point between Fort
Edmonton and the foot of the Rocky Mountains ; Fourth ,
thence to the Pacific. A line of telegraph to be constructed
in advance of the railway. The road to be constructed under
the Department of Public Works. The land grant to consist
of 20,000 acres per mile in alternate sections, two-thirds to be
sold by the Government at prices agreed upon, and the
proceeds paid to the contractors as the work went on. The
Government to have power, if found more advantageous, to
contract and work the railway as a public work. The money
grant to be $10,000 per mile for construction and rolling stock,
and 4 per cent, on a sum per mile to be fixed by contract, for
running the road.

In introducing the Bill, Mr. Mackenzie reviewed the past
history of the road, and said that he had not at all changed
his mind as to the impossibility of completing the road within
the period mentioned in the agreement with British Columbia.

20 6

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

He considered that the road would have to be built by
the country, but it need not all be built at once. He favoured
the construction of short lines of railway to connect the
magnificent water stretches of the continent, which would
afford a summer route to the foot of the Rockies, and be quite
sufficient for many years to come. He did not consider it at
all necessary to build at present the 557 miles from Nipissing
to Nipigon. With regard to the section west of the Rocky
Mountains, he said : “ The British Columbia section will, of
course, have to be proceeded with as fast as we can do it, as it
is essential to keep faith with the spirit and, as far as possible,
with the letter of the agreement.”

Honourable Dr. Tupper took exception to the Government
scheme, claiming that, if carried out, it would impose an
unbearable amount of taxation upon the country. The Bill,
however, passed its third reading without amendment.

Parliament was prorogued on May 26th, after passing one
hundred and seventeen Bills, amongst the most important of
which were an Act authorizing a loan of ^8,000,000 sterling,
and an Act to take the construction of the Intercolonial
Railway out of the hands of Commissioners, and place it
under the control of the Public Works Department.

CHAPTER XXXI.

Sir John Macdonald elected Leader of the Opposition — His attitude towards the
Government — His National Policy resolution, March io, 1876 — The Nor-
folk Demonstration — Address from the Liberal-Conservative Association —
Sir John’s speech — He advocates a Policy of Protection to all classes of
Industry — Address of Mr. Thomas White, jr. , at London — Retrospect of Can-
adian Tariff Legislation — Mr. Granger’s opinion of the effect of Protection
— The views of Horace Greeley — And of Henry Clay — The destruction of
the direct tea trade — The effect of Protection on the Masses — Does it build
up colossal fortunes? — England and the United States compared — The
mutual interests of the people in the Protective System — Opinion of Gen-
eral Jackson — The value of a home market — Protection does not increase
prices— The policy is appropriate to Canada — Reciprocity considered —
Legislation must be for Canadian interests — Protection resolution carried
at a meeting of the Dominion Board of Trade.

I T would, no doubt, make these pages more complete were
we to follow the course of the Mackenzie Government
during the five years they were in power. Their policy, with
respect to the building of the Pacific Railway, the trouble
with British Columbia, the Carnarvon terms, Lord Dufferin’s
visit and speech at Victoria, are all necessary to a complete
history of our great national highway, but it would be incon-
sistent with the task we have undertaken, to refer to them
except from the stand-point from which they were viewed
by Sir John Macdonald. For the same reason we shall omit
all reference to the trade policy pursued during these years,
and pass on to the time when he brought before Parliament
his resolutions in favour of a protective or national policy,
merely remarking of the period that had elapsed between this
and his resignation of office, that Sir John Macdonald was
unanimously elected leader of the Canadian Liberal-Conser-
vative Opposition on November 6, 1873, an d, in that capacity,
not only refrained from offering any factious opposition to
the Government, but on several occasions, gave them the
benefit of his ability and long experience in perfecting some
of their most important measures, notably, the Insolvent Act
and the Act constituting the Supreme Court of the Dominion.
He disagreed with them entirely, however, on their trade
policy and on March 10, 1876, on the motion to go into
Committee of Supply, moved the following amendment :

207

208

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

“ That this House regrets His Excellency the Governor-
General has not been advised to recommend to Parliament
a measure for the re-adjustment of the tariff, which would
not only aid in alleviating the stagnation of business deplored
in the gracious Speech from the Throne, but would also afford
fitting encouragement and protection to the struggling manu-
facturers and industries, as well as to the agricultural products
of this country.”

Sir John made an elaborate speech in support of his
motion and from that time forth, in Parliament and out of
Parliament, lost no opportunity of advocating his scheme.
It was already apparent that the tide of popular opinion was
turning in his favour and during the succeeding summer,
warm invitations were extended to him to visit different
parts of the country and address the people at open air meet-
ings. These picnics were attended by thousands of the
electors, accompanied by their wives and families, and proved
an admirable medium for bringing before the great body of
the people, the arguments he had to advance in favour of his
policy. He was invariably attended by some of the most
skilful debaters of his party who, by their able and exhaustive
speeches, materially assisted his efforts. As an example of
one of these, we will take the Norfolk demonstration, held
at the town of Simcoe, on September 27, 1876. He was
accompanied by the Honourable William McDougall, and on
arrival, was greeted with the utmost enthusiasm by a vast
number of people. An address, embodying the feelings of
affection and admiration entertained towards him by his
numerous friends in both Ridings of the County, was pre-
sented, after which speeches were made first by prominent local
men, and then by their guests. That of Mr. McDougall was
a brilliant retrospect of occurrences since Confederation, and
a forcible defence of his own conduct and that of his fellow
Reformers who had joined hands with the Conservatives in
bringing about this event, and afterwards assisted in perfect-
ing the arrangements then made, and who did not conceive
it to be their duty to desert the Ministry and follow Mr.

The Norfolk Picnic.

209

Brown. His effort met with great appreciation and he was
warmly cheered throughout.

The following is a copy of the Address which was read to
Sir John Macdonald by Mr. Livingstone, the Secretary of the
Liberal-Conservative Association of the North Riding of
Norfolk :

To the Right Honourable Sir John Macdonald , K.C.B :

The Conservatives of Norfolk hail with pleasure your visit to their
county, and earnestly hope that your life will be prolonged, and that
your health will enable you for years to continue their chief. Many of
those present to-day to greet you with a loyal welcome, have been
your admirers and steadfast friends since you first entered political
life, and have watched with intense interest the career of the distingu-
ished leader who, by his kindness of heart and urbanity of manner, has
endeared himself to his followers ; who, for more than a quarter of a
century, led his party in triumph from one victory to another ; and all
hold in high esteem the great statesman who, on obtaining position,
found this country a number ot separate provinces, but who, upon
retiring from the helm of state, left it a vast Dominion extending from
the Atlantic to the Pacific, with its people peaceful, prosperous and
contented — a statesman who, by his eminent abilities, has won for
himself an illustrious name, and a fame as imperishable as the history
of his country.

It is not because you are deemed faultless that this large Assembly
has met to do you honour ; it is because Conservatives believe that if
you erred in the administration of affairs your errors were of judgment
and not of intention, and they have ever been proud of you because
your slanderers, although they have been both numerous and malig-
nant, have never succeeded in connecting your name with any act by
which the interest or honour of your country was sacrificed ; or with
having used your position to enrich or aggrandize yourself or your
friends by dishonourable means.

The ovations you receive wherever you go prove that you still
possess the fullest confidence of Conservatives — and, we believe, of a
vast majority of the Canadian people — and are omens that you are
soon to be restored to the power which was wrested from you by
dishonest means, and by oft repeated charges of wrong doing, which
were unsustained by evidence, and which were false, but which, for a
time, so blinded the electors to your real worth, and to the true merits
of the case, that your party was defeated at the polls.

Conservatives believe that your restoration to power will be a
blessing to your country, and that the country will witness one of
your greatest triumphs, when, by wise legislation, you will have brought

14

VOL II.

210

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

prosperity back to the Dominion, and will have swept away the great
depression which at present overwhelms the Canadian industries.

On behalf of the Conservatives of Norfolk we bid you welcome, and
have the honour to present you with this Address.

John Wilson,

President, North Norfolk Conservative Association.

W. Dawson,

President, South Norfolk Conservative Association.

W. Wilson Livingstone,

Secretary, North Norfolk Conservative Association.

J. Wesley Ryerson

Secretary, South Norfolk Conservative Association.

Simcoe, September 27, 1876.

The following is but a small portion of the Speech made
by Sir John Macdonald. Its great length prevents our giving
it in full :

“ Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen — If I have for
thirty years been in public life ; if I have for nearly twenty
years been a membor of the Government ; and if, during the
greater part of that period, I have been the most reviled,
calumniated and abused man in Canada, I have my compensa-
tion here. I have my reward, my exceeding great reward,
when I find that such an Assembly as this, in the glorious old
county of Norfolk, comes here to do honour to myself. It is
a reward of which any statesman should be proud. It is a
testimony which I feel at the very bottom of my heart, and I
would, indeed, be insensible to your kindness if I did not
accept it, not only as a reward for my long services, and for all
the toil and trouble that have fallen upon me for many years,
but as a verdict of acquittal at your hands, from all the
charges against me of wilful wrong doing. No man is more
conscious than I am of my faults. Looking back at my
history, and at the history of Canada, I freely admit that,
guided by the light of experience, there are many things in
my political career that I now could wish had been otherwise.
There are acts of omission and commission which I regret ;
but your testimony, and the testimony of my own conscience,
alike show that, as you believe, and as I know, whether I was
right or wrong in any political act at the time, I was acting
according to the best of my judgment for the interest of our

President Canadian Pacific Railway).

The Norfolk Picnic.

213

common country. (Hear, hear). I want no more impartial
jury than you. I want no other verdict than from your hands
and from men like you in this Dominion, and especially in
this Province of Ontario — my own Province — and wherever I
have gone during this summer, I have been received kindly
by friends and political foes, listened to with respect by the
latter, and by my friends greeted with enthusiasm. These
meetings are of the very greatest importance. Public men in
meeting their countrymen as I have been doing this summer,
have only been copying the example of public men in the
mother country. The public men of England, who are
members of the House of Commons, are in the habit of visiting
their constituents, and entering fully into a discussion of the
political questions of the day. And yet when we commenced
these meetings — and I tell you that in no one case did I
suggest an invitation, the meetings through the country being
free and spontaneous expressions of feeling towards me —
they were laughed and jeered at and belittled. (Cheers).

“ When we were forced to go out of office we left this
country in a happy and contented state. (Cheers). In
November, 1873, the credit of this country was greater than
it ever was before. We left you a country in which there was
peace and prosperity, where the people were satisfied with the
state of affairs, where there was confidence in business, a pride
in the future of the country, and a feeling of certainty that we
were going forward, and as we had risen from being four
provinces to be one great Dominion, so it was felt we had a
great future before us in its development. There was universal
confidence and satisfaction throughout Canada, and there was
peace and contentment. What do you find now ? Is there
peace and contentment now? Is there confidence — (‘No, no,’)
— is there confidence in any branch of public affairs ? Is there
confidence in any branch of the industries of this country ?
Are not our manufacturers suffering all over the Dominion in
consequence of the injudicious action of the Government in
meddling and muddling with our tariff? Have they not
shaken our credit ? Are not our manufacturers closing or
working at half time ? Are not our mechanics working at

214

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

half wages, and is there any prospect that things will be
better ? There is universal discontent, universal dissatisfac-
tion, and a well-grounded belief that the present men in
power, no matter how patriotic their intentions may be, do
not possess the capacity to govern this country wisely and
well.

“ Gentlemen, there is another issue between the present
Government and the Opposition. We are in favour of a
tariff that will incidentally give protection to our manufac-
turers, that will develop our manufacturing industries. We
believe that that can be done, and if done it will give a
home market to our farmers. The farmers will be satisfied
when they know that large bodies of operatives are working
in the mills and manufactories in every village and town in
the country. They know that every man of them is a con-
sumer, and that he must have pork and flour, beef and all that
the farmers raise, and they know that instead of being obliged
to send their grain to a foreign and uncertain market they will
have a market at their own door. And the careful housewife,
every farmer’s wife, will know that everything that is produced
under her care — the poultry, the eggs, the butter, and the
garden stuff — will find a ready and profitable market in the
neighbouring town or village.

“ No country is great with only one industry. Agriculture
is our most important, but it cannot be our only staple. All
men are not fit to be farmers ; there are men with mechanical
and manufacturing genius who desire to become operatives or
manufacturers of some kind, and we must have the means to
employ them, and when there is a large body of successful
and prosperous farmers and a large body of successful and
prosperous manufacturers, the farmer will have a home market
for his produce, and the manufacturer a home market for his
goods, and we shall have nothing to fear. And, therefore, I
have been urging upon my friends — I have told them that we
must lay aside all old party quarrels about old party doings.
(Cheers). Those old matters are matters before the flood —
(cheers) — which have gone by and are settled forever — many
of them settled by the Governments of which I have been

The Norfolk Picnic.

215

a member. Why should parties divide on these old quar-
rels ? Let us divide on questions affecting the present and
future interest of the country.

“ The question of the day is that of the protection of our
farmers from the unfair competition of foreign produce, and
the protection of our manufacturers. I am in favour of recip-
rocal free trade if it can be obtained, but so long as the policy
of the United States closes their markets to our products we
should have a policy of our own as well, aud consult only our
own interests. That subject wisely and vigorously dealt with,
you will see confidence restored, the present depression dispel-
led, and the country prosperous and contented. The whole
country is now dissatisfied, even the political partizans of the
Government own that these men are incapable, and the whole
country knows it. I have said that the agriculturists and the
manufacturers must not divide fheir interests. They must act
together. In 1870 the Government, of which I was a member,
began the National Policy and put small duties on flour, coal,
salt, etc. I then told the manufacturers that they could not
expect to get protection from the farmers unless their interests
were also protected. They must make a common interest of
it ; unless you manufacturers will protect the farmers they will
not protect you. (Cheers).

“When I went to Washington in 1871, that policy was
repealed in my absence, and it had a prejudicial effect upon
the negotiations we were making at that time, But Mr.
Mackenzie says we had a majority in the House at that time.
True, but the whole of the Opposition voted for the repeal of
this National Policy, and some of our friends, who were
Free Traders, from the Lower Provinces voted with them.
The majority of our friends voted to support the measure.
But there was a sufficient minority of our friends who voted
with the whole body of the Opposition, and the Act of 1870
was repealed. I told the manufacturers who favoured the
repeal how selfish and unwise it was, because some few articles
might be got cheaper for their purposes, to thwart the wishes
of the farmers when they would probably be applying shortly
for protection for themselves. Gentlemen, they will not make

21 6

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

the mistake again ; they see the error now, and are anxious
to act with the farmers. And, gentlemen, if now you act
together as one man, I promise you you will see your manu-
factures flourish, and you will get a home market. Then the
depression will disappear, but it will not disappear until
another very lamentable thing happens — the present Ministry
must disappear too. (Cheers and laughter). Great as the
calamity will be, it must happen, or the present depression wiU
continue. You must do it or you will remain a slaughter
market. The Americans ‘ have the whole control of your
markets, and when they at any time produce too much for
their own markets, they send their surplus goods over here to
sell them off at a sacrifice and bring down the price of every
article in Canada, and thus our manufactures are obliged
to close their establishments or employ their workmen on half
or quarter time. Why, it has not been denied that, according
to the statement of Mr. W. P. Howland, President of the
Dominion Board of Trade, 400,000 workingmen have been
obliged to leave Canada to find employment in the United
States. Mr. Mackenzie attempts to deny it, and he takes
credit that some had found work on the Welland Canal, work
which they would never have got if we had not carried the
measure for enlarging that work, and commenced its con-
struction.

“ Gentlemen, our workmen can be fully employed if we
encourage our manufactures ; they need not go over to
the States to add strength and wealth to a foreign country and
to deprive us of that strength and wealth. If we have work
here, at home, our country will be prosperous and happy, and,
gentlemen, it is a consummation devoutly to be wished
for, and I pray you to take the lesson to heart and cast aside
all factious and partizan feelings which may have been
imbibed for the purpose of supporting designing politicians
like Mr. Mackenzie or myself. (Laughter). It has been said
that party is the madness of many for the gain of a few. It
may be so when it is a mere question between the ins and the
outs, but when the people divide on living questions we shall
have parties of earnest men, who will select the best men

The Norfolk Picnic.

217

to carry out their views in Parliament. Speaking as I do,
and feeling as I do that our views are correct, I invite the
calm consideration of the people of Canada, of the electors of
this county, at the next general election to return men who
will see that their interests are protected. It will not be
by taking those who say they will vote protection, but who,
like Mr. Charlton, when the question is put before the House,
speak one way and vote the other. That kind of thing
is a humbug, and you must not elect a man because he merely
promises to vote for protection.

“You know very well there can be no alteration in
the tariff unless it is brought down by the Government. No
independent member can move a rise in the tariff ; it must be
introduced by the Government. So you must not support
a man unless he pledges himself to vote, not only for protec-
tion, but against any Government which will not bring down
a measure for the purpose.

“ No, no, you must get the Government out, and put in a
Government that will carry it. Mr. Mackenzie is trying to
frighten his own discontented friends by asserting that if they
go out Sir John Macdonald and his bad men will come in.
Now that does not at all follow. This is a free country and
the people will choose for themselves ; the elector can, by
calm and deliberate action, elect men who are pledged to
carry out this great policy intelligently, and who will only
give their confidence to a Government worthy of it. There
are many good men in public life besides Mr. Mackenzie and
myself ; if Mr. Mackenzie died — and what a loss that would
be to the country — (laughter) — and if I died- — I have no
doubt that the country would flourish as it does now — only
better, if not under the present Government. (Hear, hear).
All this cry is a bugaboo to keep themselves in. No, put
them out if they are unfit and put other and better men in
their places.

“ Ladies and gentlemen, I have to thanx you for the kind-
ness and enthusiasm shown by you in this magnificent
demonstration ; I have to thank you from the bottom of my
heart. I should be deeply insensible if I did not feel your

2 1 8

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

kindness, confidence, and aid ; and the consolation it will give
to my friends, my wife, and my children, after all that I have
borne with, when they see and read how you, my fellow-
countrymen, rally round me, and how my friends in other
parts of the country have rallied round me. I have suffered,
and my family have suffered still more, from the continued
abuse that has been poured upon me, but that is all wiped
away, that is all forgotten. (Hear, hear). If, perhaps, I am
more popular than I have been in Ontario, and I believe I am
— (hear, hear) — a good deal of my popularity is to be attri-
buted to the feeling of the generous people of this country
that it is unfair to heap such obloquy on a man who has
v/orked so hard for his country.”

Of the many able addresses made during this period, on
the question of Protection vs. Free Trade, there was probably
none that attracted greater attention than that delivered by
Mr. Thomas White, Jr., in the City Hall, London, at the
invitation of the Board of Trade, on January 12, 1877. The
audience was composed of merchants, manufacturers and
business men generally, from the city and surrounding towns
and villages and numbered about six hundred. The meeting
was presided over by Mr. George Moorhead, President of the
Board of Trade, and on the platform were the Mayor and a
full representation of the banking and mercantile community,
the clergy, etc. The Chairman introduced Mr. White in
flattering terms, who, on rising, was received with loud
applause. His address was so well arranged, so able, so
logical, so convincing, and so clearly expounded the policy
of Sir John Macdonald and the Conservative party that, after
a lapse of a quarter of a century, it is as appropriate and as
interesting as when delivered, and may be read with pleasure
and profit. We, therefore give the following voluminous
extracts : —

“ When the Board of Trade of the city of London did me
the honour to invite me to this city to deliver an address upon
so important a subject as the relations of the question of Free
Trade and Protection to the interests of Canada, I confess to
you I had a great deal of hesitation about the propriety

Mr. White’s Address on Protection.

219

of my accepting that invitation. I have no doubt whatever in
my own mind as to the importance of this question. I have
no doubt in my own mind that it arises, in its relation to the
real interests of this Dominion, far above any other question
that is prominent in the discussions of the country. But I am
a strong party man — I am tolerably known as such ; and my
only fear in accepting this invitation was that some persons
might be ill-natured enough to suppose that I had some party
or sinister motive in accepting it. This question, I think, may
fairly be discussed without relation to party to-night. (Hear,
hear). I think it may fairly be thus discussed, for this
reason : That there are in all the political parties of this coun-
try considerable diversity of opinion upon the subject. (Hear,
hear). Among both parties will be found those who are
strong free-traders, and those who are strong protectionists.
And I propose, therefore, in discussing it with you here this
evening, to deal with it not in its relation to party at all. I
desire that we all should, as I hope to be able to, forget that
we are party men in any sense whatever, and remember only
that W'e are Canadians, deeply interested in the prosperity of
this country. (Loud applause).

“You will allow me, before I enter upon the discussion

itself, to refer somewhat briefly to the tariff legislation of

Canada. You will remember that in 1855-56, and 1856 par-
ticularly, we had great prosperity in Canada. The Grand
Trunk Railway was being built. Enormous sums of English
capital were introduced and were being expended in the
country. Employment was given to the people ; numerous
people were brought over from the Old World, some of whom
are now to be found among the most prosperous farmers in
this and other sections of the Dominion of Canada — men who
came here as navvies to work upon the Grand Trunk Railway.
Upon the completion of that work the crisis of 1857 came

upon us. The prosperity which we had enjoyed for a short

time, and which we had all hoped might be permanent, passed
away, together with the magnificent schemes of future riches
which many a man had built up on the strength of having pur-
chased a lot where a station was going to be built, and had got

220

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

the geographer to draw him plans of the future city with its
magnificent churches and town hall, and other prominent build-
ings. But they were compelled to realize that the country was
not prosperous because of the temporary introduction of capital
into it, and the mere temporary expenditure of that capital.
Then came the most important act in our tariff legislation. I
refer to the Act of 1858, when Mr. Galt, now Sir Alexander
Galt, for the first time in Canada introduced the protection
principle, and I think you will agree with me that that had
an important influence upon the interests of this country.
Those of you who look back and remember that period will
agree with me that the industries which sprang up, almost as
if by magic, in different parts of the country as the result of
the protective duties, compensate us to a very considerable
extent for the cessation of those large expenditures in capital
which we had had in consequence of the construction of the
Grand Trunk Railway. That was the first protectionist, and,
I say, the most important Act in the tariff legislation of old
Canada ; and it had an influence upon the prosperity of the
country, such as no one can for a moment question.

“ Our next most important Act — it was important because
it was apparently in direct reversal of the policy of 1858 — was
the tariff of 1866, when the same Finance Minister, Mr. Galt,
then a member of the Coalition Government, introduced a
Bill which, on the average, reduced the duty on the unenumer-
ated list to fifteen per cent. It is important for a moment to
understand the reasons which justified, and the circumstances
which rendered possible, that act of legislation. We were at
that time discussing the question of Confederation. All
parties in Canada had united together to ‘ ground arms * in
relation to the old party disputes which had separated them
before that time. They had agreed, I say, to ‘ ground arms/
and to build up a great Confederation, which would extend
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and to secure for the future
of this country that prosperity which seemed almost impossible
in the existing state of things. Our friends in the Maritime
Provinces were strong free traders ; that is, strong free
traders in the sense that they desired a low import duty ; their

Mr. White’s Address on Protection.

221

duties averaged not more than twelve and a-half per cent.
And one of the strongest arguments used against going into
Confederation was the high duties of the old Provinces of
Canada. The object, therefore, of that reduction was to assist
those friends of Confederation in the Lower Provinces in
bringing about that union, the effect of which would be to add
a million consumers for the producers of Canada, and would
secure for the whole the greater prosperity which all
desired.

“ Now, what were the circumstances which rendered that
possible ? The United States had just emerged from a great
war, and that war had paralysed all their industries. That
war had enforced a system of internal taxation which had
increased enormously the cost of everything ; they produced
a system of high duties which increased the cost of everything
they imported. They were in that condition which afforded
to us, lying alongside of them, and free from these unfortunate
circumstances, a higher protection than any possible duty
which could have been put on by the Canadian Government.
It was fortunate for us, it was fortunate for those who look
upon the prosperity of Canada as largely dependent upon a
fiscal policy, at that time, when it was necessary — in order to
secure this Confederation — to yield somewhat to the views of
the Maritime Provinces, that we should, at the same time, be
so situated in relation to the neighbouring Republic, that we
had a state of affairs which secured us absolute, entire, and
complete protection for all the industries of this country. You
will remember, gentlemen, looking back at that time, that,
down to 1873, the people of Canada suffered nothing from
the reduction of the duties to fifteen per cent. The indus-
tries of Canada suffered nothing in consequence of the change
of tariff. On the contrary, prosperity prevailed in every part
of the Dominion, and the industries which had been estab-
lished under the tariff of 1858 continued and flourished.
We were saved from that undue, that unfair competition
which has since done so much to injure and paralyse our
industries. We were saved from that during these years.

“ Now, gentlemen, I am aware that there is a general

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The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

opinion prevailing that the high prices of articles in the
United States at that time were due entirely to high import
duties. I am aware that it is alleged as one of the reasons
why we should avoid a protective policy, that the protective
system at that time was a serious burden of taxes upon the
people of the neighbouring Republic. No fallacy could be
greater. What caused the high price of goods — as I shall be
able to show to your entire satisfaction, I think, before I have
done — was not the import duties, but the internal revenue
duties which had nothing to do with protection — that internal
system of taxation which, instead of being in favour, was
directly against any idea of protection, because it is perfectly
clear that if you put a duty, say of twenty-five per cent., on
an article, in order that you may have it manufactured in
the country, and then put on an internal revenue duty of
twenty per cent., in order to raise a revenue, it is clear, I
say, that the actual protection is reduced to five per cent.,
and not twenty-five per cent. It was, therefore, I say, the
internal revenue system in the United States which at that
time caused high prices for every thing purchased in that
country. In 1873 a change again took place. The revenue
system of the country was fast returning to its normal condi-
tion. The ordinary industries of the United States were fast
resuming their old state, in consequence of the removal of one
duty after another in the internal revenue system, and things
began to change so that from that time down to the present,
under a steadily increasing ratio, cheapness became the rule
instead of dearness for articles in the United States.

“ You will remember, at least those living in large cities
and I suppose some of you know in London, that it was not,
an uncommon thing for American travellers and tourists to
come to Canadian cities to purchase large supplies of what
they required, and by a system of ‘ underground railway,’ take
them to the United States, and thus save, by the difference of
the prices here and there, enough to pay for a pleasant summer
tour — which, therefore, cost them nothing. What is the fact
to-day? In the city of Montreal and in the city of Toronto,
and I daresay in the city of London, Americans no longer

Mr. White’s Address on Protection.

223

come to buy articles; but I know people in the city of Mon-
treal who go to New York and there purchase goods — just as
New Yorkers did in Montreal, four or five years ago, and they
can purchase them cheaper than they can purchase them here,
and by the same system of ‘ underground railway ’ they bring
them to this side of the line, and make a large profit. This is
a change recognized everywhere, and has done much to pro-
voke the discussion and to revive the interest in the question
of free trade and protection — which is the most marked feature
of the discussions in the country during the last three or four
years.

“ I am compelled to refer to these discussions in dealing
with the question which I have before me. I shall be com-
pelled to refer to the utterances of public men ; I propose
especially to take the utterances of the Finance Minister in his
budget speech last session, not in a party sense, gentlemen,
but simply in the sense that in that speech we have the most
authoritative statement of the arguments of those who believe
that the true policy of this country will be found in assimilat-
ing our system as nearly as possible to that of England, and
avoiding as far as we possibly can, that of the United States.
It is in that sense, and in that sense only, that I propose to
refer to the very able speech — admitted to be able by all
parties — of Mr. Cartwright, during the last session of Parlia-
ment. He put the case very practically. He stated a plain
issue between one side and the other — it could hardly have
been more distinctly put. What Mr. Cartwright said upon
that point was as follows : ‘ It becomes us to consider the
various remedies proposed for this unfortunate state of affairs.’
He was describing the depression and the demand for a revi-
sion of the tariff, to which it had given rise. ‘ In the first place
I desire to expend a few words on the general impression
which prevails, even in quarters where we would hardly expect
to find it, that it is in the power of this Government, of any
Government, this Legislature or any Legislature, to make a
country prosperous by the mere stroke of a pen or the enact-
ment of Acts of Parliament. I would like honourable gentle-
men in this house and out of it, who entertain that illusion, as

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The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

I consider it, to think to what such a course would lead, and I
ask them if they are prepared to pay the price. You cannot
have at one and the same time, a free Government and a
paternal Government.’ I say, gentlemen, it is impossible to
put the case of the two phases of the opinion on this question
more strongly than it is here put. That is, whether a country
can be rendered prosperous by a policy of a Government or
Legislature.

“ We are fortunate, in dealing with this question, in having
the practical experience of those who have studied the ques-
tion in both its phases in the neighbouring republic. I pro-
pose, therefore, rather than give my own opinions, to give you
the opinion of some of those gentlemen ; and first I shall call
your attention to an extract from a speech delivered by Mr.
Granger on the Tariff Bill of New York, introduced into the
House of Representatives at Washington in the year 1857.
The subject then being discussed was that with which we are
dealing to-night A Protection Bill had been introduced, a
strong agitation existed on the subject, although the agitation
was only successful in 1861, when the Act came into force
before the war broke out. Here is Mr. Granger’s opinion of
the tariff legislation, and its effects on the country. He says :
— ‘ Since the war of 1812, we have at three different times
resorted to a protective tariff, to relieve us from financial
distress. From 1818 to 1824, with a mere revenue tariff, the
balance of trade was against us, and, during that term of
six years, our exports of specie exceeded our imports
$10,000,000. This caused the protective tariff of 1824, and the
effect of the change was soon felt. Confidence and activity
returned, and, instead of exporting specie, we imported specie
to a large amount. The effect was so obvious and gratifying
that the still higher tariff of 1828 was enacted — the highest we
ever had. Under these two protective tariffs of 1824 and
1828 up to 1834, ten years, the whole country was blessed
with a prosperity perhaps never before equalled in this or
any other country. In these ten years of protection, from
1824 to 1834, we imported thirty millions of specie more than
we exported and paid off the debts of two wars — that of

Protection in the United States.

225;

the revolution, and of 1812 — in all, principal and interest,
$100,000,000. Next came the descending compromise tariff
of Mr. Clay, reluctantly conceded to the opponents of protec-
tion. By a sliding scale this tariff brought us down to a hori-
zontal tariff of 20 per cent. The result was the Government
soon found itself out of funds and out of credit. The tariff of
1842 was arranged for protection and revenue incidentally. It
justified the expectations of the most sanguine friends, but it
was allowed only a brief existence. It was said in high places
that the principle of Protection was wrong, and in an evil hour
Congress adopted the maxim, and the tariff of 1842 was
repealed, and that of 1846, the present one, substituted. Sir,
unless we have a radical change in our tariff laws, we shall
surely have another financial crash. We must manufacture
more and import less, and keep our specie at home. We
have a foreign debt of nearly $250,000,000. Protection is
vastly more important to us now than revenue, but we can
have them both at once if we will/ That, gentlemen, is
the opinion of Mr. Granger on the tariff, in its relation to its
effect on the country. He contended that if a change were
not made in the tariff of the country, they would have a
financial crash. Whether in consequence of the tariff not
being altered, I do not pretend to say, but certainly the crash
did come.

“ I will give you another opinion — the opinion of an
eminent United States public man — of a man who, however
much one might differ from his political opinions, was
respected by all, and who was deeply concerned for the pros-
perity of the whole people of the United States. I refer to the
late Horace Greeley. He said : — ‘ It is within my own recol-
lection that, after the last war we carried on against Great
Britain, there was a universal collapse ; foreign goods crowded
our markets and American factories were shut up ; then was
labour without employment and agriculture without recom-
pense, which created a feeling that agitated the country.
After eight years of commotion the tariff was enacted
expressly for Protection. This was enhanced in 1828, and the
country arose out of its misery and bankruptcy and collapse

i.5

VOL II.

2 2 5

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

into prosperity and thrift. That I know, for I saw it.’ That
was the confession of Mr. Greeley as to the power of the
Government or Legislature, by the enactment of wise laws, at
such times as it was deemed advisable, to affect the prosperity
of the people.

“ I will quote one other extract from the speech of another
great man in the neighbouring Republic — a man whose name
is honoured as that of a great man, not only in his own
country, but wherever the English language is spoken —
Mr. Henry Clay. He thus discusses the two periods of
the country’s existence, under a Protective policy, and
under a policy of Free Trade : — ‘ Eight years ago it was my
painful duty to present to the other House of Congress an
unexaggerated picture of the general distress pervading the
whole land. We must all yet remember some of its frightful
features. We all know that the people were then oppressed
and borne down by an enormous load of debt ; that the value
of property was at the lowest point of depression ; that
ruinous sales and sacrifices were everywhere made of real
estate ; that stop laws, and relief laws, and paper money,
were adopted to save the people from impending destruction ;
that a deficit in the public revenue existed, which compelled
the Government to seize upon and divert from its legitimate
object the appropriations to the Sinking Fund to redeem the
national debt, and that our commerce and navigation were
threatened with a complete paralysis. In short, sir, if I were
to select any term of years since the adoption of the present
constitution which exhibited a scene of the most widespread
dismay and desolation, it would be exactly that term of seven
years which immediately preceded the establishment of the
tariff of 1824.’ That was a sufficiently gloomy picture of
national distress ; but he had a brighter picture to present
as its counterpart. ‘ I have now to perform the more pleas-
ing task of exhibiting an imperfect sketch of the existing
state of the unparalleled prosperity of the country. On a
general survey, we behold cultivation extended, the arts flour-
ishing, the face of the country improved, our people fully and
profitably employed, and the public countenance exhibiting

Destruction of the Direct Tea Trade.

227

tranquility, contentment, and happiness. And, if we descend
into particulars, we have the agreeable contemplation of a
people out of debt ; land rising slowly in value, but in a
secure and salutary degree ; a ready, though not extravagant,
market for all the surplus productions of our industry ; in-
numerable flocks and herds browsing and gamboling on ten
thousand hills, and plains covered with rich and verdant
grasses ; our cities expanded, and whole villages springing
up, as it were, by enchantment ; our tonnage, foreign and
coast-wise, swelling and fully occupied ; the rivers of our
interior animated by the perpetual thunder and lightning of
countless steamboats ; the currency sound and abundant ;
the public debt of two wars nearly redeemed ; and, to crown
all, the public treasury overflowing, embarassing Congress not
to find subjects of taxation, but to select the objects which
shall be liberated from the impost. If the term of seven years
were to be selected of the greatest prosperity which this
people have enjoyed since the establishment of their present
constitution, it would be exactly that period of seven years
which immediately followed the passage of the tariff of 1824,
This transformation of the conditions of the country from
gloom and distress to lightness and prosperity, has been
mainly the work of American legislation fostering American
industry, instead of allowing it to be controlled by foreign
legislation cherishing foreign industry.’ That, gentlemen,
is the opinion of Henry Clay, a great man, all will admit —
a man fully competent to give an opinion on the effect of
legislation upon the people, and it must be admitted by all
parties that the inference which he drew, and the strong
opinion which he gave utterance to, was contrary to the
opinion of Mr. Cartwright, Mr. Clay being clearly of opinion
that, under certain conditions, the Legislature could pass
such measures as, under certain conditions, would improve
and enhance the prosperity of the people. (Applause).

“ But, gentlemen, we are able to prove that Mr. Clay was
right by our own experience in Canada. I have already
referred to the effect of the tariff passed in 1858. Every one
will admit that the effect of that tariff was to increase the

228

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

prosperity of our country by the building up of manufactures.
It did more. By its adoption of the ad valorem as opposed
to the specific system of duties a direct trade was built up,
the effect of which has been to produce this magnificent result
— that Canada to-day stands fourth amongst the maritime
nations of the world. (Applause). You will remember that
in 1872, the American Government took the duty off tea.
Sir Francis Hincks, then Financial Minister in Canada,
recognizing the fact that it would be well for Canada to adopt
a similar policy, took the duty off tea imported into Canada.
But after he had passed the Bill taking off the duty, he dis-
covered that the American people (following the course they
generally adopt) considering their own interests as opposed
to the interests of Great Britain and this country, had a clause
in their law by which a duty of 10 per cent, was charged on
all tea imported from countries west of the Cape of Good
Hope. There was nothing said in this clause about Canada
or Great Britain ; but they were (as they were really meant
to be) alone included ; and, of course 10 per cent., special
duty, was charged on all tea exported by way of Canada to
the United States. Sir Francis Hincks, with that acuteness
which all parties admit he possesses, with that instinct in
relation to the interests of the people which is peculiarly his
own ; said that if we permitted Free Trade with the United
States, and allowed them to charge 10 per cent, duty, the
effect would be the transfer of the entire tea trade to the
United States. Sir Francis, therefore, passed an Act in the
same session, providing that the Governor in Council might,
by Order in Council, impose a duty on all tea coming from
the United States, equal to the duty charged by the United
States on tea imported into that country from Canada, and
that Act had preserved to Canada its own tea trade, and we
enjoyed all its advantages.

“ A direct trade was fast springing up, and was becoming
one of the great factors of the country’s prosperity when, in
1874, Mr. Cartwright proposed again to alter the duties. He
did not put on the 10 per cent., and what was the result? It
was that the direct tea trade of Canada was destroyed by a

Destruction of the Direct Tea Trade.

229

stroke of the pen embodied in an Act of the Legislature. Many
men in the City of Montreal, prominent tea men, had actually
been compelled to leave that city and go to the United States,
from whence they are issuing circulars to the trade all over
the Dominion of Canada, hoping from that point to do the
business which they formerly did from the Canadian city.
And the same from all our cities as the result of that simple
matter of 10 per cent. I am aware that it is said that there
never was 10 per cent, before Sir Francis Hincks put it on ;
and that, therefore, Mr. Cartwright did simply what had
always been done by previous Governments. Let me show
that that argument is not strictly a fair one. When we had
tea duties before, they were part ad valorem and part specific.
To the extent that they were ad valorem , they were a direct
premium upon a direct trade — that this, a duty charged upon
the article at the point of export (in China, for instance)
coming here. To the extent the duty was ad valorem , it was
a direct incentive to direct trade. Men going to the city of
New York to purchase a quantity of tea would be compelled
to pay duty on the charges of getting it to New York, as well
as on the actual cost of the tea ; but if he got it direct from
China he had only to pay ad valorem rate upon the prices
in China. So that, practically, we had what was equivalent
to the 10 per cent, differential duty in this understanding.
But by the system of to-day that has been taken away.

“ Then, gentlemen, you remember the effect in connection
with the sugar duties. Owing to the American ‘ drawback ’
which is simply a bounty concealed as a ‘ drawback ’ — our
refineries in Canada have actually been compelled to close up.
I am not going to discuss that question in all its bearings.
As Dundreary says : ‘ It is one of those questions which no
fellow can understand/ But the prominent fact we know is
that 400 heads of families have been thrown out of employ-
ment ; the refineries have been shut up, and a direct incentive
to West India trade, as I shall show further on, has been des-
troyed, simply for want of legislation, for want of ‘a stroke of
the pen embodied in legislation/ which would meet the policy
of the United States in giving their heavy ‘drawback’ to

2 30

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

American refiners, by which they are able to glut this market.
Indeed, Mr. Cartwright practically admits that the action of
the Government may materially affect the condition of the
people, for here let me give another extract from that speech:

‘ Any man who carefully examines the working of their sys-
tem,’ that is the American system, ‘will find that their high tariff
had tended most materially to enrich a very few and seriously
impoverish the great masses of the people. I believe the crea-
tion of collossal fortunes, such as has taken place there (in the
United States), and perhaps in other countries, does threaten
serious mischief. I have no objection to the accumulation of
reasonable independence, nor do I indulge any hope of enact-
ing sumptuary laws to limit the amount which any man
should accumulate in a life-time ; but I do say that anything
which overrides the ordinary natural laws, and operates in the
direction of large accumulations in a few hands, is dangerous
and ought to be discouraged,’ Now, gentlemen, without for a
moment arguing that point at this time, I think you will agree
with me that it cannot be said in one and the same speech, or
at any rate it ought not, that it is not in the power of Legisla-
ture by a stroke of the pen, or by any mere Act of Parliament,
to affect the prosperity of the people, while at the same time you
may so far effect them as to allow the building up of colossal
fortunes in the hands of the few, and seriously to impoverish
the many. (Loud applause).

“ There is, however, a great deal of difficulty in keeping
our free trade friends to any direct line of argument. I have
shown you that Mr. Cartwright’s views — and his views are
those of a great many others — are that the effect of protection
is to build up colossal fortunes in the hands of the few, to the
prejudice of the great mass of the people. Now, what does
David Wells say as to this — and this statement of Mr. Wells*
is quoted by Mr. Cartwright, and I take the quotation from
the speech of that gentleman : ‘ Every prophecy so confi-
dently made in the past as to the results of protection in
inducing national prosperity has been falsified, and one has
only to pick out the separate industries which have been

Does Protection build up Fortunes?

231

especially protected to find out the ones which are more
especially unprofitable and dependent

“ It is sufficient to say that the existing depression and
stagnation is without parallel, eight of the principal mills of
the country having been sold, on compulsion, within a
comparatively recent period, for much less than fifty per cent,
of their cost of construction ; the Glendham mills in particular
— one of the largest and best equipped woollen establishments
in the United States, advantageously located on the Hudson,
about fifty miles above New York, and representing over one
million of dollars paid in — having changed hands since April
1st, last, for a consideration of less than two hundred thousand
dollars. Here, then, we have Mr. Wells’ assurance that ‘ one
has only to pick out separate industries especially protected to
find out those unprofitable.’

“Now, gentlemen, that statement may be right, or it may
be wrong. I am not going to say whether it is right or wrong ;
but what I am going to say is this : that if the effect of
protection has been to destroy the industries which were
protected, and that they have been unprofitable and dependent
just in proportion as they have been protected, then it cannot
be true that the effect of protection is to build up colossal
fortunes in the hands of a few to the prejudice of the many.
(Applause). If, however — and I think that is an important
statement to consider — if it be true that the effect of
protection is to build up colossal fortunes in the hands of the
few, and to seriously impoverish the great masses of the people
— then, gentlemen, I say that is a good argument against
protection, and no really true-hearted, honest, patriotic man
ought, for one moment, to advocate it. The principle should
be, undoubtedly, ‘ the greatest good for the greatest number.’
If the effect of protection is simply to benefit the few to the
injury of the many, then, I say, let the few perish, but give us
prosperity for the many. (Hear, hear). That, undoubtedly, is
what every honest, patriotic man would say. But what are the
facts ?

“ Let us look at them, and in the light of them judge
whether the effect of protection is ‘ to build colossal fortunes

232

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

in the hands of the few, and seriously to impoverish the masses
of the people.’ Now, we have two countries which may fairly
be taken as illustrations of the two systems. We have Eng-
land on the one side — which, however, is not a fair illustration
of the free trade system as applied to the world over, for the
reason that the peculiar position of England, her immense
wealth, her tremendous accumulations of coal and iron lying
together ; her insular position, her command of an enormous
mercantile marine, many of which advantages were built up
by a system of protection and restriction as great as that
which ever prevailed in any other country — I say these advan-
tages give her a position which renders it impossible to cite
her for illustration for a country like Canada, or the United
States twenty-five or fifty years ago. We are urged to adopt
England’s policy, I presume, because the policy there does
not, it would seem, build up colossal fortunes in the hands of
the few, and does not seriously impoverish the great masses
of the people. The United States is cited as an example
which should deter us, because its system does build up
colossal fortunes in the hands of the few, and seriously impov-
erishes the many. I have no desire to say one word against the
dear old mother land, but we are dealing with practical ques-
tions, and we must deal with them as facts present themselves
to us. I say, what is the position ? There is one fact in
relation to the United States and Canada of which I think we
may be proud, both Americans and Canadians — that is, in no
country on the face of the earth is the distribution of the
wealth, and the comforts which produce wealth, so general
and universal as on this North American continent, both sides
of the lines. (Hear, hear).

“ Look at one fact I will give you as an illustration of the
distribution of the wealth among the masses of the people in
the United States. According to the report of the Imperial
Commissioners on Emigration — and that is an authority which
ought to be accepted without cavil — in one year, in 1870, there
were sent from America in amounts to pay the passages of
immigrants to come to the United States — and these were
sent by people who had themselves come out, and were com-

England and United States Compared. 235

paratively poor — the enormous sum of £ 727 , 408 sterling, or in
round figures $3,627,040; while in the twenty-three years from
1848 to 1870 inclusive, the amount they sent over was
16,334,000 sterling, or an average, annually, of $3,550,870.
These are the evidences of the condition of the great masses
of the people in the United States. What is the condition of
the poor in England ? On this point I will not cite hostile
testimony, but I will quote English opinions. Mr. John Bright
should be taken as a correct exponent on this question, if
any man may be. He says : ‘ There are one million people
who are paupers on the parish in England, and another
million are perpetually lingering on the very verge of paup-
erism.’ What does Sir Morton Peto say : ‘It is an awful
consideration that in England, abounding as it does with
wealth and prosperity, there are nearly a million of human
beings receiving indoor and outdoor relief as paupers in the
different unions, besides the still greater number dependent
upon the hand of charity. As the population of England
and Wales, by the late census, were 20,205,504, it follows
that nearly one-twentieth part of our people are subsisting
upon charity.’

“ Then I will quote Mr. Joseph Kay, a Cambridge man, in
a work on the condition of British workmen : ‘The poor of Eng-
land are more depressed, more pauperized, more numerous in
comparison to the other classes, more irreligious, and very much
worse educated than the poor of any other European nation,
solely excepting Russia, Turkey, South Italy, Portugal and
Spain.’ Lord Napier says, and his statement, it will be seen,
has direct reference to the point urged by Mr. Cartwright :
‘ The proportion of those who possess, to those who possess
nothing, is probably smaller in some parts of England
at this moment, than it ever was in any settled community,
except in some of the republics of antiquity, where the
business of mechanical industry was delegated to slaves.’
Judge Byles, another English authority, writes as follows : —
‘ In the fierce struggle of universal competition, those whom
the climate enables, or misery forces, or slavery compels, to
live worse and produce cheapest, will necessarily beat out

236 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

of the market and starve those whose wages are better. It is
a struggle between the working classes of all nations, which
shall descend first and nearest to the condition of brutes/
That is a very hard sentence, but unfortunately I am afraid
that, under free trade conditions, it is only too accurate a
statement of conditions of labour and successful competition.
The City Chamberlain of Glasgow reports that : ‘ By the
census of 1861 more than 28,000 houses in Glasgow were
found to consist of but a single apartment each, and above
32,000 of but two, so that of the whole 82,000 families com-
prising the city, upwards of 60,000 were housed in dwellings
of one or two apartments each.

“ Now, gentlemen, having given you these English author-
ities as to the condition of the masses in England, let me give
you an extract from an English authority, concerning the con-
dition of the masses in the United States, under a system,
which, according to Mr. Cartwright, ought to seriously
impoverish the great masses of the people while creating
colossal fortunes in the hands of a few. Let me give you the
opinion of Mr. Archibald, British Consul at New York — I find
it in a blue book which has been compiled from the reports of
different consuls on the conditions of labour in all parts of the
world, and submitted to the Imperial Parliament in 1872 — and
what does he say : ‘ The value of intelligent labour has never
been so much appreciated in the United States as during
the last twelve years. A completion of railway facilities
linking the new States of the North-West to the eastern sea-
board ; a rapid development of the agricultural resources of
these States by the vast crowds of immigrants brought over
by the transatlantic steamships, which, in return, convey into
their holds the cereal and other agricultural products of the
labour they have borne to these shores ; a protective tariff
stimulating for the last ten years the industries of the older
States ; the social condition and political institutions of the
country, promising advantages to the immigrant and his
children, not so fully enjoyed in their native lands ; have all
combined in presenting inducements to the working classes of
Europe, of which they have not been slow to avail themselves,

England and United States Compared. 237

as is shown by the statistics of immigration. . . There is

probably no country in the world, which, outside of the immi-
gration ports, offers equal advantages to the operators or
farm labourers/ That is the testimony of Mr. Archibald in
relation to the people in that country, under whose system,
according to those who argue in favour of Free Trade, colossal
fortunes should have been built up by a few, and the great
masses impoverished. (Applause).

Now, there is another argument used by those who call
themselves free traders — I again quote from the speech of
Mr. Cartwright in the same sense as before — and this is, that
— ‘ The effect of a high tariff is not to add to any extent to the
population of the country, but to promote an artificial trans-
ference from the rural districts to the towns and cities at
the expense of the agricultural interests. If you discriminate
against the agricultural interests, if you enact that they shall
receive less from the results of their labour than they would
without your interference, then you undoubtedly promote an
artificial transference from the country to the town.

There is not the slightest doubt that this has been one —
although I will not say a very great — cause of the commercial
depression in this country. I say the onus is now thrown upon
those who advocate a high protective tariff. Let them con-
sider what they ask this country to do. They ask 11s to tax
nineteen-twentieths of the population for the sake of the
one-twentieth/

“ I agree that there is no justice in assisting to build
up one class at the expense of another. If that fact could
be established — and it was almost a shibboleth of free
traders — I would give up my advocacy of protection. The
question is, does protection discriminate ? In regard to this
point I will give a quaint illustration advanced by Mr.
Horace Greeley in 1873, as to the mutual interests of the
people in this system. He says : ‘ I am a printer of news-
papers, and I have no other product to sell ; and whatever I
buy must be bought from the proceeds of the sale of news-
papers. Now, I am a consumer of iron, and in my business,
probably, have 100 tons of iron in the basement only of

238 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

the building in which I work. I want to buy it cheaper ; but,
in order to do so, I must consider, not merely what the price
is in dollars, but how I shall get the dollars. Now, I say, give
me iron makers who will buy my newspapers off me, and I
can afford to give them more for the iron I need than I can
give to the iron-workers who cannot, in the nature of things,
and will not, purchase my paper. This is a very simple
proposition, but it covers the whole ground.’ Mr. Greely, by
using American iron, secured employment for a large number
of people, who bought his paper. They made him more
prosperous, though he paid more for his iron, and thus the
mutual interest is admirably established.

“ Then we have another statement by another man, whose
name had doubtless been heard of — General Jackson. He
was arguing in favour of Protection in the interest of the
agriculturist, he being a representative of an agricultural
county, and what does he say : ‘ I will ask what is the real
situation of the agriculturist ? Where has the American
farmer a market for his surplus products ? Except for cotton
he has neither a foreign nor a home market. Does not this
clearly prove, when there is no market at home or abroad,
that there is too much labour employed in agriculture, and
that the channels of labour should be multiplied ? Common
sense points out at once the remedy. Draw from agriculture
the superabundant labour, employ it in mechanism and
manufactures, thereby creating a home market for your bread-
stuffs, and distributing labour to a most profitable account,
and benefits to the country will result. Take from agriculture
in the United States six hundred thousand men, women and
children, and you at once give a home market for more bread-
stuffs than all Europe now furnishes. In short, sir, we have
been too long subject to the policy of British merchants. It
is time we should become a little more Americanized, and
instead of feeding the paupers and labourers of Europe, feed
our own, or else, in a short time, by continuing our present
policy, we shall be paupers ourselves. It is, therefore, my
opinion that a careful tariff is much wanted to pay our
national debt and afford us the means of that defence within

Protection does not Increase Prices.

^39

ourselves on which the safety and liberty of our country
depend, and last, though not least, give a proper distribution
to our labour, which must prove beneficial to the happiness,
independence and wealth of the community.’

“ This was written in 1823, if I remember rightly. Now,
I think it must be admitted that the argument was fairly
put, and accorded with experience. Look at our own experi-
ence. What was the value of great centres of trade and
industry? Take London and the farms around it. What
renders the farms here more valuable and the farmers
more wealthy than they would be if they were in Mus-
koka ? You say at once, because they have a home
market. There is a large number of people here that require
their products ; and the fact is seen that the advantage of the
farmer is in the building of these centres of population.
Protection does not discriminate against the farmers.
It is a most remarkable doctrine that the farmers are
injured by the people becoming consumers rather than
producers of agricultural products.” Mr. White then
proceeded to point out “ that the measure of taxation of
the people is the requirement of the Government. If
they require $23,000,000 they must raise it, no matter how ;
if no more, they do not require to raise it ; and if in raising it
they so distribute it as to enhance large industries, he main-
tained it was for the benefit of the country, and did not add
to the taxes of the people. But if the effect of protection
is to enhance the price of certain articles, then there is a
taxation of one interest for the benefit of another. But I
contend that protection does not necessarily and perman-
ently increase the cost of the articles protected, and in support
of that proposition I will give two or three instances from the
States.

“ The first extract would be from a publication recently
made on the iron trade of America : ‘ Before axes were made
in this country, except by country blacksmiths, English axes
cost our farmers and others from $2 to $4 each. By the tariff
of 1828, a protective duty of thirty-five per cent, was levied
upon imported axes. Under this protection the Collins Com-

240

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

pany of Hartford, introduced labor-saving machinery, much of
which was invented, patented, and constructed by themselves.
In 1836 foreign and home made axes were selling side by side
in the American market at $15 and $16 per dozen, at which
time foreign producers withdrew their competition, abandoning
the entire market to American manufacturers. Then home
rivalry and improved methods continued the decline in prices.
Axes were selling in 1838 at $13 to $15.25 per dozen; in 1840
at $13 to $14; in 1843 at $11 to $12; in 1845 at $10.50 to
$11; in 1849 at $8 to $10. In 1876 the price of the best
American axes in the market is $9.50 per dozen, currency >
and the country exports large quantities to foreign markets.’
Now, that is the effect of protection upon one article — that of
axes.

“ Then, in the same publication, we have this extract : ‘ A
list of the wholesale prices at New York of fifty-seven leading
articles of hardware and cutlery, prepared for us by Mr. David
Williams, publisher of The Iron Age , shows that more than
half of them are cheaper in currency in 1876 than gold in
i860, with two exceptions; the remainder are as cheap now
as in i860.’

* But, strangely enough, I have Mr. Cartwright’s own
admission that the effect will not be to increase the price. He
says : ‘ As to the curious allegations made by the protection-
ists that if our manufacturing friends are sufficiently protected
it will not increase the cost to the consumer, as sufficient
competition will arise to cut down prices so low that we shall
be just as well off as under the present tariff, I have simply
this to say, that I think in time that result would be produced,
but I also think it would take time, and during that period a
few gentlemen would make large fortunes, while the rest of
the community would have to pay an enormous price for that
benefit. But I may add, sir, if that is to be the result, if the
desire of the protectionists is by internal competition to cut
down the standard of prices, I would strongly recommend
the gentlemen to begin now, and by these means defy compe-
tition.’ I think the latter statement unworthy of any public
man. Mr. Cartwright knows — and every intelligent man must

Canada as a Slaughter Market.

24 r

know — that the condition for building up industries is to
accumulate capital around them. And how can capital be
best accumulated ? By the protection of young industries,
that they may be able to grow up in our midst. And to tell
manufacturers that they are to invest their capital, and start
their enterprises, and then to be subjected to the unfair
‘ slaughtering 5 of a neighbouring nation, is simply to insult
the intelligence of every manufacturer in the land. (Applause).

“ And now I come to a question which has recently, and
with considerable cause, too, given rise to a great deal of
discussion in this country. I refer to the fact of Canada being
made a slaughter market for the United States. Mr. Cart-
wright admits this when he says : c I don’t propose at
this moment to enter fully into the discussion raised as to
Canada being a sacrifice or slaughter market. But I must
admit, candidly and honestly, that I have no doubt that the
distress of the manufacturers has been aggravated — though I
will not say to what extent — by this cause.’ That is a fair
admission of Mr. Cartwright, and every one knows it is only
too true — that Canada has been made a slaughter market for
the United States. And the United States is not an except
tional case to this rule. It is the object of all large manufac-
turing communities to kill off small manufacturing commun-
ities, first by opposing a high tariff, and then by flooding the
markets of its less able competitor. Here is a statement
made by Lord Brougham in the House of Lords in 1816:
‘ It is well worth while to incur a loss upon the first exporta-
tion, in order by the glut to stifle in the cradle those rising
manufactures in the United States which the war has forced
into existence contrary to the natural course of things.’ Lord
Brougham’s opinion of the ‘natural state of things’ was that
the people of this country should be hewers of wood and
drawers of water to the manufacturers of the mother land.
With all due respect to the memory of Lord Brougham, I
think the people of this country will differ from him.
(Applause).

“Not only that, but in 1854 an English Royal Parlia-
mentary Commission reported : ‘ The labouring classes, gen-

242

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

erally in the manufacturing districts of this country, and
especially in the iron and coal districts, are very little aware
of the extent to which they are often indebted for their being
employed at all, to the immense losses which their employers
voluntarily incur in bad times in order to destroy foreign com-
petition, and to gain and keep possession of foreign markets.
The large capital of this country is the great instrument of
warfare against the competing capital of foreign countries, and
the most essential instruments now remaining by which our
manufacturing supremacy can be maintained.’ The great
object which they had in view was even to the extent of sacri-
fice, to kill off whatever manufactures appeared to be spring-
ing up in other countries, in order that they might secure the
market for themselves.

“ While that process is going on, it is quite true you may
have cheap goods, while industries are being destroyed, while
capital is being driven from the country, while men who were
employed among you are compelled to ‘take up stakes’ and,
with their families, seek in a more prosperous place the
employment denied them here — while all these things are
going on you may have goods cheaper ; but the moment rival
manufactories are put out of sight, the instant the object is
attained, there is no longer any sacrifice of the goods, and you
have to pay the price the manufacturer chooses to exact.
(Hear, hear).

“ Now, I am aware that it is said in answer to what I have
just been saying, that it is an inevitable rule of political econ-
omy that consumers always pay the duty. On tea in this
country, that is true, because we do not produce tea ; on rice,
that is true, because we do not produce rice ; on whatever we
cannot produce that is quite true — that the consumer must
pay the duty on the cost of the article. But that is not true in
relation to articles which we do produce ; and I can give you
two illustrations. When Mr. Galt brought in his tariff of 1858
the Sheffield manufacturers petitioned the Imperial Govern-
ment to disallow the Act. To them it was horrible that
colonists like us should be guilty of establishing manufactories
and competing with their mightinesses in Sheffield, and they

Canada as a Slaughter Market.

243

implored the Government of that day to say, as Lord
Brougham put it, that ‘the natural condition of things should
be restored.’ While they furnished the articles, it should be
matter of no moment to them what the duties were if the
consumer paid the duty. But it was because they knew that
we did not pay the duty, and because we were competing with
them, and compelling them to reduce the prices that they
petitioned the Imperial Government.

“ But I will notice for a moment a question put by my
friend, Mr. Mills, a short time ago, when he addressed the
Chamber of Commerce in this city, and I notice it because a
question put by him assumes an importance which it would
not otherwise have. The question is, ‘ if protection was good,
why did not England adopt it ?’ Well, that does seem a ‘poser’
for protectionists. But, gentlemen, I will just show you two
English authorities, giving one of the reasons why England
adopted free trade in the first instance, and inferentially why
it continues free trade. Mr. Robertson, M.P., during the
discussion on Free Trade said : ‘It was idle for us to endeav-
our to persuade other nations to join with us in adopting the
principles of what was called Free Trade. Other nations knew,
as well as the noble lord opposite and those who acted with
him, what we meant by Free Trade was nothing more or less
than, by means of the great advantages we enjoyed, to get
monopoly of all their markets for our manufacturers, and to
prevent them, one and all, from ever becoming manufacturing
nations.’ In this extract and in others that I have quoted,
you have the answer to Mr. Mills’ question. Possessing the
numerous advantages which England possesses, she can afford
to become the apostle of Free Trade, in order that the prev-
alence of her opinions may secure the uninterrupted control of
foreign markets for her manufacturers. (Applause). I will
refer once more to the speech by Mr. Mills, delivered here. I
accept his challenge, and I assert that the following grounds
are true in respect to protection : It increases capital ; it
increases labour ; it stimulates trade ; it improves appliances.

“ And now, gentlemen, I have a word to say in reference
to whether this policy is appropriate to Canada. We are a

VOL II. t6

244

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

colony of the British Empire, and God grant that we may
long remain so. (Hear, hear, and applause). We have had
discussions as to whether it is advisable to have independ-
ence for this country ; and we have had discussions whether
it would be better to have Canada annexed to the United
States ; and there have been proposals to establish an Amer-
ican Zollverein. The independence cry is dead, and we will
bury it out of sight. So far as an American Zollverein is
concerned, I had the pleasure of being appointed one of
the delegates of the Dominion Board of Trade to the meet-
ing of the National Board of Trade at St. Louis. We went
there with the instructions to try and have a reciprocity in
trade established. They were anxious to have Free Trade
with us, but they wanted a deal more than reciprocity.
They proposed to abolish the entire Custom Houses along the
line, and that Canada and the United States should impose
equal duties on all articles coming from other countries. That
was simply to cut connection with Great Britain — -(hear, hear)
— because to combine with another power to discriminate
against the mother land was simply to declare separation
from her. And the honest course would be to separate at
once. (Applause).

“ We, of course, did not accede to the proposal. But the
National Board passed a resolution— I am afraid as a mere
matter of courtesy to the Canadian delegates — which they
have repeated at every meeting since then, without any
influence on the Government, that it was desirable to have
reciprocity with this country. Our greatest competitor is the
United States. They slaughter in this country because of its
proximity. Everyone must see that when a nation has manu-
facturing power for 40,000,000 people, it can as easily, and
with scarcely any additional cost, manufacture for 44,000,000.
They are thus enabled, during certain seasons, to sell their
goods in this country at a mere nothing rather than force them
into their own market, during a dull season, and thus bring
down the price there. By slaughtering their goods in this
country, they are enabled not only to keep up their own prices
but to kill off our manufactures. (Applause).

Reciprocity in Manufactures Impossible. 245

“ And what we have to complain of is, that this advantage
is given to the United States, whose trade regulations are
hostile to us, and whose whole fiscal policy has been against
us. (Hear, hear, and applause). And the only policy you
are met with by the United States, when you wish a change,
is inimical to your interests ; not a policy to your advantage,
but one which they consider will have the ultimate effect of
driving us into annexation. We propose a policy to put a
stop to this feeling, which every Canadian must dislike. It
is said we cannot adopt a differential duty. Mr. Irving,
during the debate in the House of Commons last year, made
some very appropriate remarks on this subject. He cited
a clause of the Convention of Commerce, in 1815, which is
commonly said to show that we cannot adopt these differ-
ential duties. Here is the clause : ‘ No higher or other duties
shall be imposed on the importations into the territories of
his Britannic Majesty in Europe, of any articles the growth,
produce, or manufacture of the United States, and no higher
or other duties shall be imposed on the importation into the
United States of any articles, the growth, produce, or manu-
facture of His Britannic Majesty’s territories in Europe, than
are or shall be payable on like articles being the growth,
produce, or manufacture of any other foreign country.’ It is
quite clear from that clause that England cannot adopt a
system of differential duties, as against the United States.
But the next clause goes on to say : ‘ The intercourse be-
tween the United States and His Britannic Majesty’s posses-
sions in the West Indies, or on the continent of North
America, shall not be affected by any of the provisions of
this article, but each party shall remain in the complete
possession of his rights.’ Not only, therefore, is there nothing
in that treaty which prevents us from adopting differential
duties, but there is an express provisions in it that we shall
not be so prevented. And we have had differential duties
as late as 1847. Not only that, but the tea duty of Sir
Francis Hincks was a differential tariff. It was placed on
your statute book, and there was not any attempt by the
United States or England to prevent it. That is a system of

246 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

differential duties which may be fairly placed on articles at
the present time.

“ Many people say we should have reciprocity. No doubt
for a great many people it would be well to have reciprocity.
No doubt the farmer, living on the frontier would feel it to
be an advantage. No doubt he must feel a hardship in the
farmer of the United States being allowed to bring his pro-
duce to sell in the Canadian market without being charged
a duty, and he (the Canadian) unable to take his produce
oyer to the United States without paying a heavy duty.
Reciprocity in the natural products of the country would be
a good thing. But I do not believe that reciprocity, in regard
to manufactured goods, is possible. If we took off the duty
on goods imported from the United States, we could not, as
loyal subjects, impose duties on goods brought from the
mother country. If we have free interchange with the United
States, we must have the same with Britain. (Applause ..
All protection against the mother country would thus be
gone. We would find ourselves in this position : We would
have the country free to the United States and to Britain,
and would be unable to maintain, much less to increase, our
present manufactures, while the United States would be pro-
tected from all the countries of the world.

“ There is another argument I wish to advance in favour
of protection. It promotes immigration. Emigrants from
the mother land, on arriving in this country, do not all want
to be sent into the woods to earn a livelihood ; do not all
desire to leave the occupations taught them at home, in order
to become agriculturists here. They want a diversity of
employment, and unless we have legislation of the kind I have
mentioned, legislation which will permit the skilled workman
to continue his calling in this country, they will most assuredly
wend their way to the United States, and seek there that
employment which, through a narrowsighted policy, is denied
them here. We have vast territories to fill up in the North-
West and British Columbia, that glorious land which Lord
Dufferin so lately visited, and spoke so approvingly of. It is
our duty to fill up these vast territories, to develop their

Dominion Board of Trade’s Declaration.

24;

wonderful resources, and we can best assist in doing so by the
adoption of a policy which will tend to improve the condition
of the manufacturer, and in the nature of things materially
benefit all classes of the community. We don’t want to be
hewers of wood and drawers of water for our neighbours for
all time to come. That is not our object. Our aim should be
to legislate to build up Canadian interests, that capital may
find profitable investment, labour diversified employment, and
the people prosperous and contented homes.”

Mr. White resumed his seat amid loud and long continued
applause.

Mr. Carling said “he had great pleasure indeed in moving
the thanks of the citizens of London to Mr. White for his very
able and instructive lecture. Mr. White had come to this city
at great inconvenience to himself, at the request of the Board
of Trade, and he was quite sure that the citizens of London
would highly appreciate his able lecture. It was not a ques-
of politics he had come amongst us to discuss. It was a vital
question, aud deeply affected the commercial interests of the
Dominion. It was to determine whether a policy should be
adopted calculated to induce parties to live amongst us, or to
deter them from assisting us in building up the new Dominion.
If Free Trade was better calculated to do that, then let us have
it. If protection was deemed the best policy for Canada, then
let us pin our faith to it. It was our duty to weigh well the
views advanced by representative men of both people, and
then decide which is the best for the country. Let us adopt a
national policy. In concluding he spoke of his friend, Mr.
White, whom he had known personally and politically for over
twenty years, as a gentleman who was certain to hold a high
position in this country, and who had worked his way up from
a small beginning at Peterboro’ to be one of the leading
thinkers in the commercial metropolis of Canada. (Applause).
Mr. White was highly respected as a man of talent and ability,
and he (the speaker) was acquainted with no man whose
judgment he would sooner rely upon for a sound opinion than
Mr. Thomas White.” (Loud applause).

A day or two later Mr. White tested the question at a

248 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

meeting of the Dominion Board of Trade by moving the fol-
lowing resolution :

“ That in the opinion of this Board the principle of Pro-,
tection to the manufactures of the country is of vital impor-
tance to its prosperity, and that, in any revision of the tariff,
this principle should be embodied, especially in the case
of such articles as the unfair and unequal competition has
pressed most heavily upon.” He called attention to the fact
that the figures quoted by Col. Walker were taken from the
Trade and Navigation returns for the period ending July 1,
1875, and did not give any idea of the condition of affairs
during the last eighteen months, the very period in which the
slaughtering complained of had been carried on most exten-
sively. He also called attention to the fact that the import
trade of the United States had largely increased under a
Protective tariff, having more than doubled since 1861. He
pointed out that in Free Trade England, when Commissioners
met in 1865 to agree upon a system of sugar duties with other
countries, a rule was adopted that in case any one of the
nations represented at the Convention should offer bounties,
any or all the others should be permitted to increase the tax
to an equivalent extent. He denied that Canadian consumers
got the benefit of the bounty to refiners in the United States,
and the action of the British Commissioners in providing
against such a contingency proved this. The fact was our
fiscal policy was driving the consumer out of the country,
and diminishing the trade of the Dominion. While we were
proposing to subsidize steamers to carry the mails to the
West Indies, we were by our sugar duties destroying the trade
with that country. He agreed with Mr. Wood, of Quebec,
that the prosperity of the United States was largely due to
the Free Trade between the several States. But suppose any
one of those States found itself surrounded by high tariffs,
while it had no protection itself? What would be the result?
It would drive manufactures from the unprotected State.
That was precisely the position in which Canada stood. It
was against such a condition of affairs that his amendment
was directed, and he asked the Board to adopt it.

Dominion Board of Trade’s Declaration. 249

The amendment was seconded by Mr. Sanford.

Mr. Lyman said of late years he had observed a great
increase in the numbers of those favourable to Protection.
It had always amazed him to see Montreal importers vote
against Protection, for the most important thing for an
importer is to have consumers. Without manufactories there
could be no employment for emigrants and artizans, and they
had to drift off to the United States to find it. There could
be no doubt of the intention of the United States manufact-
turers slaughtering their goods in this country in order to
secure it as a market. They had been told that the United
States had suffered from Protection. He would like very
much to see Canada suffer in the same way, as they had
all seen the extraordinary growth of the Republic during the
last century. As for over-production in this country crowding
our own markets, there was no such thing. The over-produc-
tion arose not from the produce of our manufacturers, but
from the heavy importation of foreign goods on a low tariff.
Importation governed the price of the whole quantity in the
market, as home manufacturers had to conform to the prices
quoted in the trade lists of the agents of foreign houses.
When capitalists preferred to invest their money in the
United States instead of Canada, it was a sure indication that
they favoured a protective tariff.

Mr. Thomson called attention to the boot and shoe trade
of Canada, which was prospering under a 17 % per cent, tariff,
and he would like to know why it was that other industries
did not prosper also. He was opposed to any great increase
in the tariff, and especially to a 25 per cent, tariff, which, he
thought, would be a limit that would increase the industries
to their own ruin.

The amendment was then carried — yeas 24 ; nays 14.

Ayes — Messrs. Clemow, Dobson, Farrell, Fraser, Gillespie,
Howland, Hannan, Kirkpatrick, Lyman, Long, McLennan^
McKechnie, Oille, Ogilvie, Paterson, Perley, Rees, Rowland,
Rosamond, Robinson, Sanford, Thomson, White, Woods.
Total ayes — 24.

Nays — Messrs. Brown, Bronson, Cameron, Corcoran, Fry,

- 5 °

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

Joseph, Kerry, McMaster, Pennock, Skead, Stairs, Shahyn
Walker, Wood. Total nays — 14.

The Protectionists received the announcement of the
victory with loud applause.

Other speeches were made, both for protection and Free
Trade, from which we select the following :

Mr. McKechnie was pleased to find a growing sentiment
in favour of Protection. He advocated the imposition of
increased duties on refined sugars. He denied that Protec-
tion would increase the cost of living, and contended that the
opposite would be the result. Experience had proved that
the establishment of home industries had invariably benefited
the consumer. He argued against the policy which opened
our markets to the manufacturers of the United States, while
theirs were closed to us. He pointed to the example of our
neighbours to show the benefits of Protection. A protective
tariff, instead of cutting off revenue, had yielded enough to
pay the interest on the national debt and some of the
principal, while the want of it had driven our workingmen
to the neighbouring country to look for employment. Every
one wanted a Reciprocity Treaty, but we could never get it
until we had something to give. Our farming population
were becoming alive to the importance of protecting their
industries. They saw that home competition would keep
down prices, while it would improve their markets.

Mr. Clemow did not wish the Board to suppose that the
Ottawa district favoured Free Trade. The lumber trade
were looking for Protection. They felt the competition of
Western timber merchants at Quebec and the effects of the
hostile tariff of the United States. It was all very well to
talk of Free Trade cheapening living, but what was the good
of cheap articles if the people had nothing to buy them with ?

* Ottawa was suffering from the low tariff. The mechanics
had gone to the United States. Lumbermen found work-
men going to Michigan and Wisconsin for employment, while
the great iron mines near the city were undeveloped for want
of Protection. A policy was needed which would keep our
people at home. (Cheers).

Dominion Board of Trade’s Declaration. 251

Mr Woods (Quebec) said if the tariff was the cause of
the commercial depression that was an argument in lavour
of Free Trade, for we had more Protection now than for
many years past. He maintained that the depression of
trade in the United States was greater than in Canada. The
shipping trade had been almost obliterated by Protection.
There was nothing in the United States to encourage us to
take the retrogade step of adopting Protection. The internal
Free Trade of the United States gave them what prosperity
they enjoyed. Their foreign trade was well nigh obliterated.
His strong conviction was that the proper policy for Canada
was the one now followed, a tariff for revenue purposes, so
framed as to levy the largest duties on luxuries and the next
on articles which we can manufacture ourselves. He argued
against the imposition of Protective duties on sugar. If the
United States Government were desirous of giving a bounty
to the refiners for -the benefit of consumers, our people had
nothing to complain of. If the proposition of the refiners
were adopted, it would be simply giving a bonus of $500,000
per annum to keep 6,000 working people in Canada.

“ Mr Sandford (Hamilton) said all that Protectionists
wanted was internal Free Trade, such as Mr. Woods admitted
had built up the prosperity of the United States. That was
just what was denied to us by the existing tariff.

Dr. Oille, (St. Catharines), in reply to Major Walker’s
remarks, wished to know if we were benefited by practical
Free Trade in pig iron, steel rails, and bar iron. The fact was,
that notwithstanding the high protective tariff on those articles
in the U nited States, we paid as much for ours. The difference
was that we had to buy ours abroad, while the United States
consumer had his manufactured at the same price at home.
When steel rails were first manufactured, they were imported
into the United States at high prices. A heavy duty was put
on them, and home industries at once sprang into existence.
The result was that they manufactnred their own rails, and
the railway companies got them as cheaply as they could get
abroad. By our policy we paid as much for such articles as
our neighbours, while we were without the large manufacturing

252

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

industries which were flourishing in the neighbouring country.
We had the humiliating spectacle of Americans coming to
Ottawa and taking ore from our mines, carrying it to the
United States, smelting it, and sending back to us our own
iron manufactured. We import to day 250,000 barrels of
flour. Under a proper policy, we would import the grain,
manufacture it and the barrels, and send it to the Lower

p

Provinces, while we would bring back in return cargoes of
their products. Under a proper policy our Maritime Provinces
would be the Great Britain of America.

Mr. Howland contended that Canada never had but one
satisfactory tariff, that of Galt’s of twenty per cent. Under
that tariff manufactures had thrived. Nothing but fanaticism
prevented free traders from seeing that Canada was placed at
a disadvantage in her relations with the United States. He
contended that the duties of the neighbouring country were
differential against the Dominion. He did not advocate the
imposition of the same duties on our side, because a lower
tariff would answer our purpose.

At this point the Premier and Messrs. Vail, Smith and
Burpee entered, and were received with cheers. They were
introduced to the United States delegates, and seated with
them near the President.

Mr. Howland continued his argument in favour of Protec-
tion. He contended that our home industries were dying out
from the extreme competition of our neighbours, and furnished
several illustrations in proof of the assertion. The farmers
were beginning to feel the same competition in their line.
The Grangers had recently passed a resolution in favour of
Protection to agricultural industries. Without a re-adjusted
and increased tariff, Confederation would never be accom-
plished. The inter-Provincial trade which it would stimulate
would draw us closer together, develop our immense natural
resources, and restore the prosperity which this country should
enjoy. This was a national policy which would make us feel
we were all Canadians, and interested in the prosperity of
every section of the country.

Mr. White lived to see his views carried into practical

Dominion Board of Trade’s Declaration. 253

effect, and, as a Minister of the Crown, had many opportuni-
ties of raising his voice in defence of Canadian interests. In
the prime of life, and at the zenith of his usefulness, he was
suddenly stricken down, and passed away on April 21, 1888.
He was a close friend of Sir John Macdonald who, in
endeavouring to announce his death to the House, completely
broke down, and laying his head on his desk, burst into deep
sobs. The whole House was deeply affected, and few could
keep back their rising tears, for Mr. White had hosts of friends
and no enemies.

CHAPTER XXXII.

General election September 17, 1878 — Defeat of the Mackenzie Government — Sir
John Macdonald forms a new Government — Departure of Lord Dufferin —
Lord Lome and H. R. H. the Princess Louise — The National Policy reso-
lutions March 14, 1879 — Sir Leonard Tilley’s speech — A short summary
of his political history — Death of the Honourable George Brown — A
memorial statue erected in Queen’s Park — Tributes to his memory by
Honourable Oliver Mowat and Honourable George Allan.

T N the autumn of 1878 Parliament was dissolved and a
general election held on September 17th. The issue before
the people was whether or not they desired protection to home
iudustries, and they pronounced in favour of the policy in a
manner that even the most sanguine of its advocates had
never hoped for. The electors also, doubtless, felt that an
injustice had been done to Sir John Macdonald and his Minis-
try in 1873 m pronouncing them guilty on such utter want of
evidence, and were anxious to make atonement. The Oppo-
sition swept the country even more completely than Mr.
Mackenzie had done in 1874, and, finding himself left in such
a hopeless minority, that gentleman handed in the resignations
of his Cabinet to His Excellency the Governor-General. For
the first time since 1844, Sir John was defeated in his old
constituency, Kingston, but was elected for Marquette, Mani-
toba. He was entrusted with the task of forming a new
Government, which he succeeded in doing as follows :

Right Hon. Sir John A. Macdonald, Premier and Minister of the
Interior.

Hon. S. L. Tilley, Minister of Finance,

Hon. Charles Tupper, Minister of Public Works.

Hon. J. H. Pope, Minister of Agriculture.

Hon. James Macdonald, Minister of Justice.

Hon. L. F. R. Masson, Minister of Militia.

Hon. J. C. Pope, Minister of Marine and Fisheries.

Hon. L. F. G. Baby, Minister of Inland Revenue.

Hon. Mackenzie Bowell, Minister of Customs.

Hon. Alexander Campbell, Receiver-General.

Hon. H. L. Langevin, Postmaster-General
Hon. J. C. Aiken, Secretary of State.

Hon. John O’Connor, President of the Council.

Hon. R. D. Wilmot, Speaker of the Senate.

254

Departure of Lord Dufferin.

25;

Shortly afterwards, Lord Dufferin having completed his
term of six years, sailed for England. During his stay in
Canada he had won the respect, admiration and affection of
the people of Canada and his departure was deeply regretted.
The warm feeling entertained was shown by the large number
of addresses presented to him, one of which was joined in by
nearly every municipal body in Canada. He was succeeded
by the Marquis of Lome, who, accompanied by H. R. H. the
Princess Louise, arrived in Halifax on November 23rd and
were received with all possible honour.

It would be a congenial task to present to our readers
some of the very eloquent speeches made by Lord Dufferin
during the period he presided over the destinies of the country,
and to try and convey some idea of the popularity of both
himself and Lady Dufferin amongst the Canadian people, but
it would be impossible to do justice to the subject within a
limited space, and the story has already been told so fully and
clearly by Mr. Leggo and Mr. Stewart, that the better course
is not to touch upon ground which has already been so ably
occupied.

The Marquis of Lome is descended from one of the most
illustrious and ancient families in Scottish history, the annals
of whose ancestors are traced back until they become dim in
the twilight of tradition. But since Gillespie Campbell, in the
eleventh century, acquired by marriage the lordship of
Lochow, in Argyleshire, the records of the family may be
plainly followed. From him descended Sir Colin Campbell, of
Lochow, who became distinguished both in war and in peace,
and who received the surname of “Mohr’' or “Great.” From
him the chief of the house is to this day styled, in Gaelic,
‘‘MacCailean Mohr” or “The Great Colin.” In 1280, he was
knighted by Alexander III., and eleven years later he was
slam in a contest with his powerful neighbour, the Lord
of Lome. This event occasioned bitter feud between the two
families, which existed for many years, but was finally termin-
ated, romantically, by the marriage of the first Earl of Argyle
to the heiress of Lome. For hundreds of years after this
time the history of the family is inseparably inwoven with the

258 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

history of Scotland. The first and also the last Marquis of
Argyle was Gillespie Grumach, or Archibald the Grim, who
was beheaded during the reign of Charles II. His son, taking
part against the reigning power, escaped to the Continent, but
subsequently returned to Scotland to invade that kingdom
simultaneously with the Duke of Monmouth’s unlucky rising
in the south. His small force was defeated while marching on
Glasgow, and he was captured and suffered the same fate as
his father. The estates were confiscated, and the family
seemed doomed to extinction ; but the revolution of 1688
brought it once more into prominence, and its representative
was created the Duke of Argyle and Marquis of Lome. The
next successor to the titles played a very conspicuous part in
the history of his time, and has been immortalized in verse by
Pope, and in prose by Sir Walter Scott. The head of the
family at the present time is the eighth Duke of Argyle, a
celebrated statesman who has filled several important offices
under different Administrations, and who has achieved consid-
erable reputation as a man of science and of letters. Upon the
formation of Mr. Gladstone’s Cabinet in December, 1868, he
became Secretary of State for India, and conducted its affairs
with marked ability until the Liberal Government was deposed
in February, 1874. The late General Grant said that the Duke
of Argyle inspired in him a higher respect than any other man
in Europe. This, from the ex-President of the United States,
whose discriminating sense and judgment in observing men
was unsurpassed, and who had met nearly all the distinguished
men in the world, is a rare compliment, but doubtless as
deserving as true. In 1844, the Duke married Lady Elizabeth
Georgina Sutherland Leveson-Gower, eldest daughter of the
second Duke of Sutherland, and late Mistress of the Royal
Robes. By this union he has twelve children, the eldest
of whom, the Right Honourable Sir John George Edward
Henry Douglas Sutherland Campbell, K. T., G. C. M. G., Mar-
quis of Lome, was born at the Stafford House, St. James’
Park, London, on August 6, 1845. He was educated at Eton,
and afterwards passed successively to the University of St.
Andrew’s and Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1866 he

The Marquis -of Lorne.

259

became connected with the military, by appointment as
Captain of the London Scottish Volunteers, and in 1868 was
commissioned Lieut.-Colonel of the Argyle and Bute Volun-
teer Artillery Brigade. For literary and artistic pursuits the
Marquis possesses much natural ability as well as a cultivated
taste, the result of study, observation and experience. His
first published work was “A Tour in the Tropics,” the result
of his observations during a trip through the West Indies and
the eastern part of North America in 1866. Although the
author was very young at this time, the appearance of this
work displayed to the public the keen sense of observation
and discriminating judgment which he inherits from his father.
During this trip he made his first visit to Canada, and
conceived a very favourable impression of this country. His
next publication was “ Guida and Lita, a Tale of the Rivieta,”
a poem which attracted much interest, not so much on
account of its titled author, as because of the genuine worth
and beauty of its composition. In 1877 appeared from his pen
“The Book of Psalms, literally rendered in verse,” which is
doubtless the best of his literary productions. It called forth
much praise, and is a work of great merit.

In 1868 he became a member of the House of Commons,
representing the constituency of Argyleshire, and was
re-elected by acclamation in two subsequent general elections,
and continued in Parliament until his appointment to Canada.
During part of the Duke of Argyle’s term of office in Mr.
Gladstone’s Cabinet, the Marquis acted as his private secre-
tary, displaying much aptitude for affairs of state.

On March 21, 1871, he was united in marriage to Her
Royal Highness, the Princess Louise Caroline Alberta,
Duchess of Saxony, the sixth child and fourth daughter of
Her Majesty Queen Victoria, who was born on March 18,
1848. Since her marriage brought her prominently before
the public, she has been regarded with much affectionate
interest by the people ; and her personal qualities, indepen-
dently of her high rank, are such as to have earned for her
the love and respect of all with whom she had been brought
in contact.

VOL II.

2 6o

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

As we are now dealing with a period within the memory
of every one and it is necessary to hurry on to the concluding
portions of the work, we will not attempt to follow the
remainder of Sir John Macdonald’s career in the detailed
manner that was necessary in the earlier chapters. It, con-
sequently, becomes impossible to dwell upon the acts or
characteristics of any of the Governor’s-General, under whom
he had the honour of serving in his later years. Therefore,
while proposing to return for a while, to deal with the National
Policy and the Pacific Railway, we will, at this point antici-
pate a little and say that Lord Lome remained in Canada
as Governor-General, until October 23, 1883, when his

successor, Lord Lansdowne, was sworn into office. He
proved to be a worthy successor to Lord Dufferin, and both
he and H.R.H. the Princess Louise won warm places in the
hearts of the Canadian people. The sentiments of the nation
were fitly voiced in the speeches of Sir John Macdonald and
Mr. Blake in moving and seconding the adoption of an
address to him, upon his retirement from office. Sir John
Macdonald said : “ When we heard that Lord Lome was
appointed to hold the great office of representative of Her
Majesty in Canada, we rejoiced that the selection had fallen
on the scion of so illustrious a race as that of Argyle ; and
I, with every countryman of mine, rejoiced that the son of
McCallum More should be here to represent the Queen.
That pleasure was increased by the knowledge that he was
to be accompanied by Her Royal Highness the daughter of
our Sovereign. Though our expectations were high, I am
glad to believe that the country and this House, as the repre-
sentative of the country, believe our expectations to have
been fulfilled. From the time he first assumed office until
now, he has devoted himself with great industry, energy, and
ability, and, I am glad to say, with great success, to forward-
ing all the interests of Canada, not in a mere dilettante per-
functory way, but in a searching manner, earnestly enquiring
into the position of the country, its capabilities and resources
and the best way of advancing all its interests, material, intel-
lectual, moral, and artistic. He has not spared himself. He

The Marquis of Lorne.

261

has visited every Province of the Dominion, not as a mere
traveller, but as one anxious to make all enquiries fully to
inform himself of our wants, wishes, and aspirations. Now
that he is leaving us, we must express our regret at his depar-
ture. We regret extremely to lose, also, as a matter of
course, his illustrious consort During the short time her
health has enabled her to be with us, she has endeared herself
to every one with whom she has come into contact by the
kindly and sympathetic manner with which she has viewed
both men and things in Canada. We must not forget that,
although we have been deprived of much of her presence,
and of the light such a presence casts around the metropolis,
the accident which caused her absence was occasioned by
her attending to her duties as the wife of the Governor-
General, in coming to be present at one of the official cere-
monies, the duty of presiding at which was cast upon Lord
Lorne and herself as his consort.”

Mr. Blake, in seconding the resolution, as leader of the
Opposition, said : “ Honourable gentlemen opposite, of course
have, from their connection with His Excellency as his
responsible advisers, the opportunity of speaking with a
greater knowledge as to the discharge of his political duties,
than those who have not that opportunity. But, viewing His
Excellency’s conduct from the position we occupy, we can
cordially concur in the sentiment that he has been a good
constitutional Governor, and that, so far as his public conduct
has enabled us to judge, he has fully realized and acted upon
those great principles of responsible Government which are
so dear, equally in this and the mother country, and which
form, in the opinion of both, the vital element of their system
of Government. The Governor of Canada has, as this
Address indicates, many important duties to perform. Those
duties His Excellency has assiduously attended to ; and, in
the spirit the honourable gentleman has expressed, we have
every reason to believe that he has devoted his time, his
energies, his ability, his intellect, to the thorough understand-
ing and comprehension of the situation of this country, to an
attention to its physical and moral oosition, and to enabling

362

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

himself, as far as his high position would permit, to give fit
expression to what our wishes, wants, and aspirations are, here,
during the discharge of his high duty, and hereafter in the
councils of his country, to which he will, no doubt, shortly
be called ; that expression which will be of great use to us —
not an expression of indiscriminate praise, which we do not
want, but the judicious expression of such a measure of praise
and approbation as may convince the public whom he
addresses, that they are the sentiments of his heart, based
upon a thorough comprehension of all the circumstances of
this country. The honourable gentleman has alluded to His
Excellency’s illustrious consort, and the representative of
the Queen by office and by birth, her illustrious daughter.
We are glad to send this message back. We are here in a
democratic country, where the Throne is not supported by
the arrangements of society, which are supposed, in other
lands, to be essential to a monarchy ; but there exists here
in the minds of the people, a firm, thorough, and fervent —
because a reasonable — loyalty to that system under which,
if they do not entirely regulate their affairs, at any rate they
have the most perfect measure of self-control and of self-
government.

The following is the joint address which was adopted by
both Houses :

To His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir John Douglas Sutherland
Campbell ( commonly called the Marquis of Lome J, Knight of the Most
Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle ; Knight Grand Cross of
the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George , Governor-
General of Canada , and Vice-Admiral of the same , etc., etc.

May it Please Your Excellency:

We, Her Majesty’s dutiful subjects, the Senate and House of
Commons of Canada in Parliament assembled, desire, on behalf of
those whom we represent, as well as on our own, to give expression to
the general feeling of regret with which the country has learned, that
Your Excellency’s official connection with Canada is soon about to
cease.

We are happy, however, to believe that in the Councils of the
Empire in the future, and wherever opportunity enables you to render
her service, Canada will ever find in Your Excellency a steadfast

The Marquis of Lorne.

263

friend, with knowledge of her wants and aspirations, and an earnest
desire to forward her interests.

Your Excellency’s zealous endeavours to inform yourself by
personal observation of the character, capabilities and requirements
of every section of the Dominion, have been highly appreciated by its
people, and we feel that the country is under deep obligations to you
for your untiring efforts to make its resources widely and favourably
known.

The warm personal interest which Your Excellency has taken in
everything calculated to stimulate and encourage intellectual energy
among us, and to advance science and art, will long be gratefully
remembered ; the success of Your Excellency’s efforts has fortified us
in the belief that a full development of our national life is perfectly
consistent with the closest and most loyal connection with the Empire.

The presence of your illustrious consort in Canada seems to have
drawn us closer to our beloved Sovereign, and in saying farewell to
Your Excellency and to Her Royal Highness, whose kindly and
gracious sympathies, manifested on so many occasions, have endeared
her to all hearts, we humbly beg that you will personally convey to
Her Majesty the declaration of our loyal attachment, and our deter-
mination to maintain firm, and abiding our connection with the great
Empire over which she rules. (Signed).

D. L. Macpherson,

Speaker of the Senate.

J. G. Blanchet,

Speaker of the House of Commons.

On May 25th, the members of the House of Commons
went in a body to the Senate Chamber where, together with
the members of the Upper House, they were received by the
Governor-General and the Princess Louise. The address
adopted by both Houses was then presented to His Excel-
lency by the Privy Councillors who were in attendance, and
the Marquis of Lorne made the following reply :

“ Honourable Gentlemen — No higher personal honour can
be received by a public man than that which, by this Address,
you have been pleased to accord to me. In asking you to
accept my gratitude, I thank you, also, for your words regard-
ing the Princess, whose affection for Canada fully equals mine.
It will be my pride and duty to aid you in the future to the
utmost of my power.

“Now that the pre-arranged term of our residence among
you draws to its end, and the happiest five years I have ever

264 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

known are nearly spent, it is my fortune to look back on a
time during which all domestic discord has been avoided, our
friendship with the great neighbouring republic has been
sustained, and an uninterrupted prosperity has marked the
advance of the Dominion.

“ In no other land have the last seventeen years — the space
of time which has elapsed since your Federation — witnessed
such progress. Other countries have had their territories
enlarged, and their destines determined by trouble and war,
but no blood has stained the bonds which have knit together
your free and order-loving populations. And yet, in this
period, so brief in the life of a nation, you have attained to a
union whose characteristics, from sea to sea, are the same.

“ A judicature above suspicion ; self-governing communi-
ties entrusting to a strong central Government all national
interests ; the toleration of all faiths, with favour to none ; a
franchise recognizing the rights of labour by the exclusion
only of the idlers ; the maintenance of a Government not
privileged to exist for any fixed term, but ever susceptible to
the change of public opinion, and ever open through a
responsible Ministry to the scrutiny of the people ; these are
the features of your rising power.

“ Finally, you present the spectacle of a nation, already
possessing the means to make its position respected by its
resources in men available at sea or on land. May these
never be required except to gather the harvests, the bounty
that God has so lavishly bestowed upon you. The spirit,
however, which made your fathers resist encroachments on
your soil and liberties, is with you now, and it is as certain
to-day as it was formerly, that you are ready to take on your-
selves the necessary burden to ensure the permanence of your
laws and institutions.

“ You have the power to make treaties on your own respon-
sibility with foreign nations, and your High Commissioner is
associated for purposes of negotiation with the foreign office.

“You are not the subjects, but the free allies of the great
country which gave you birth, and is ready with all its energy
to be the champion of your interests. Standing side by side,

Sir Leonard Tilley and National Policy. 265

Canada and Great Britain work together for the commercial
advancement of each other. It is the recognition of this which
makes such an occasion as the present significant, personalities,
however dear to individuals, are of no possible moment.
These may be happy or unhappy accidents, but the satisfac-
tion experienced from the condition of the connection now
subsisting between the old and new lands, can be affected by
no personal accident.

“ I therefore rejoice that again it has been your determina-
tion to show that Canada remains as firmly rooted as ever in
love to that free union which ensures to you and to Great
Britain equal advantages. Without it, the maintenance of
your institutions and national autonomy would not be allowed
to endure for a twelvemonth, while the loss of the alliance of
the communities which were once the dependencies of Eng-
land, would be a heavy blow to her commerce and renown.

“ I thank you once more for your words, which shall be
dear treasures to me forever, and may the end of the term of
each public servant who fills with you the office which consti-
tutes him at once your chief magistrate and the representative
of a united empire, be a day for pronouncing in favour of a
free national Government, defended by such Imperial alliance.”

On March 14, 1879, the Honourable S. L. Tilley made his
Budget Speech introducing the National Policy. Much of it
was of course of a statistical nature and would be uninteresting
to the general reader, we will, therefore, only give those parts
which deal with the principle upon which the new tariff was
formed.

“ Mr. Chairman, — It ±s only recently that I have quite
realized the great changes that have taken place throughout
the Dominion of Canada since I last had the honour of a seat
in Parliament. To-day I fully realize them, and the increased
difficulties devolving upon me, as Finance Minister, compared
with the position of affairs when I submitted my financial
statement in 1873. Then my work was a very easy one
indeed. Honourable Ministers on the. opposite benches were
pleased, on that occasion, to compliment me on that state-
ment, but I felt that I had earned no compliment, that if that

266

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

speech was acceptable to the House, it was because of the
satisfactory statements I was able to make with reference to
the condition of the Dominion and also of the finances of the
Dominion. Then, sir, I was able to point to steady and
increasing surplusses and revenue, and that, too, in the face of
a steady reduction of taxation. Then I was able to point
with some degree of confidence to the prospective expendi-
tures of the Dominion, extending over ten years. To-day I
cannot speak of it with the same confidence. Then the con-
struction of the Pacific Railway was under regulations that
confined and limited the liabilities of the Dominion, to
$30,000,000. To-day I am not in a position to say what
expenditure or responsibilities we may incur with reference to
that great undertaking. There has been a change in the
policy. But it will become the duty of the Government and
of Parliament to consider, while we have not the limit to our
liabilities that we had, whether we cannot, by some means,
construct that great work largely out of the 200,000,000 acres
of land lying within the wheat area of that magnificent country.

“ Then, sir, I could point with pride and with satisfaction
to the increased capital of our banks and the large dividend
they paid. To-day I regret to say that we must point to
deprecated values and to small dividends. Then I could
point to the general prosperity of the country. To-day we
must all admit that it is greatly depressed. Then I could
point with satisfaction to the various manufacturing industries
that were in operation throughout the length and breadth of
the Dominion, remunerative to the men who had invested
theincapital in them, and giving employment to tens of thous-
ands. To-day many of the furnaces are cold, the machinery
in many cases is idle, and those establishments that are in
operation are only employed half time and are scarcely paying
the interest on the money invested. Then, sir, we could point
to the agricultural interest as most prosperous, with a satisfac-
tory home market and satisfactory prices abroad. To-day
they have a limited market with low prices, and anything but
a satisfactory market abroad. Then, sir, we could point to a
very valuable and extensive West India trade ; to-day it

Sir Leonard Tilley and National Policy. 267

does not exist. Then, sir, we could point to a profitable and
direct tea trade, that has been demoralized and destroyed.
Then everything appeared to be prosperous ; to-day, though
it looks gloomy, I hope there is a silver lining to the cloud, that
we may yet see illuminating the whole of the Dominion, and
changing our present position to one of happiness and
prosperity.

“ Mr. Chairman, there has been, and very naturally so, a
good deal of interest and anxiety manifested on the part of
the friends of the National Policy, as it is called, in regard to
its early introduction. I can quite understand that, because,
believing as they do, and as a majority of this House do, that
that policy is calculated to bring prosperity to the country, it
was but natural that they should be anxious for its introduc-
tion, and that not a day should be lost. And it is satisfactory
to know that, great and difficult as is the responsibility which
rests upon me here, I may trust that the proposition I am
about to submit will be sustained, not only by a majority of
this House, but by an overwhelming majority in the country.
It was natural, therefore, Mr. Chairman, that the friends of this
policy should be anxious for its introduction, and it was
pleasing and satisfactory to see that even the Opposition vied
with the friends of the Government in that anxiety. It is
most encouraging to me, because, of course, all Oppositions
are patriotic, and certainly a patriotic Opposition, anxious for
the introduction of this measure, could not have desired that
a bad measure, and one not calculated to benefit the country
should be forced hastily upon it. Therefore, I take it for
granted that, in addition to the support from the gentlemen
behind me, we shall have the support of gentlemen opposite
to our policy and the propositious we are about to submit.

“ But, perhaps, it will not be out of place for me to offer a
few remarks in justification of the apparent delay that has
taken place. It will be remembered that the Government
was only formed on October 19th. Some delay took place in
awaiting the arrival in Canada of an honourable member, who,
I am satisfied, is one whom, whatever the political opinions of
gentlemen of this House may be, all would have been anxious

268

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

to see consulted before the Government was formed — I mean
the Minister of Militia. The Government, therefore, was
not completed till October 19th. The members of the Gov-
ernment had to return for re-election, and those elections,
though they were hastened with all possible rapidity, because
we felt there was a great deal of work to be done, were not
over until the early part of November, when we returned to
the city of Ottawa. And what did we find ? As Minister of
Finance, I cannot say I found the finances in the most satis-
factory condition. I found, sir, that we had maturing in
London, between the early part of November and January 1st,
an indebtedness of $15,500,000 with nothing to meet it but
the prospective payment of the Fishery Award. On this side
of the Atlantic we had in the various banks of the Dominion
something like $5,000,000, and between that date and January
1st, with the subsidy of the provinces and payments to con-
tractors who were constructing public works, something like
$3,000,000 had to be paid ; and then, considering the position
the banks were in all over the Dominion, the uncertainty as
to what might transpire, it was just possible that a reduction
in the reserves might take place, and that meant a demand on
the Dominion Treasury. Every dollar we found it necessary
to take from the banks at the time was embarrassing, and
was reluctantly withdrawn. But it was inevitable that the
Finance Minister should proceed to London, with the least
possible delay, that arrangements might be made to sustain
the credit and the honour of the Dominion. Well, sir, in order
to avoid that, feeling the importance of every member of the
Government being at his post in order to prepare measures
for the meeting of Parliament, a cable message was sent to
our agents on the other side to ask if the visit of the Finance
Minister to London could not be avoided. The answer was
“ No; his presence here is absolutely necessary.” Under these
circumstances I proceeded to London, and I placed a loan of
£3, 000, 000 sterling upon the market there.

“ Then sir, after my return to Canada, it became necessary
that we should consider the whole question of the tariff. It is
not a question that can be settled in a day. It is not a ques-

Sir Leonard Tilley and National Policy. 269

tion that can be settled intelligently in weeks, indeed it would
have been well if we could have had more time to consider it
than we have had, considering the magnitude and importance
of the work. I can appeal to other Finance Ministers, and
especially to my immediate predecessor, who, in 1874, made
several changes in the tariff of that day, to speak of the diffi-
culties there are in making even as few changes as were then
made. But, if we undertake, as the present Government have
undertaken, to re-adjust and re-organize, and, I may say, make
an entirely new tariff, having for its object not only the realiz-
ation of $2,000,000 more revenue than will be collected this
year, but, in addition to providing for that deficiency, to adjust
the tariff with a view of giving effect to what has been, and is
to-day declared to be the policy of the majority of this House
— I mean the protection of the industries of the country — the
magnitude of the undertaking will be the better appreciated.
Sir, we have invited gentlemen from all parts of the Dominion,
and representing all interests in the Dominion, to assist us in
the re-adjustment of the tariff, because we did not feel —
though perhaps we possess an average intelligence in ordinary
Government matters — we did not feel that we knew every-
thing. We did not feel that we were prepared, without advice
and assistance from men of experience with reference to these
matters, to re-adjust and make a judicious tariff We, there-
fore, invited those who were interested in the general interests
of the country, or interested in any special interests. Gentle-
men who took an opposite view, met us and discussed these
questions, and I may say that, down to as late a period as
yesterday, though the propositions are submitted to-day, we
were favoured with the co-operation and opinion of gentlemen
who represent their particular or general views with reference
to the great questions we have under consideration. We have
laboured zealously and arduously, and I trust it will be found
successfully ; and we are now about to submit our views for
the consideration of this House. I think we may appeal with
some degree of confidence to gentlemen in opposition, in
approval of the early period at which this tariff is being intro-
duced, when I call to the mind of these honourable gentlemen

270

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

that their Government was formed on November 7, 1873;
ours on October 19th ; that my predecessor did not submit
his tariff and budget speech until April 14th, this being March
14th. When we submit to this House the result of our
deliberations you will all understand the nature and extent
of the consideration that must necessarily have been given
to them. I trust that this House and the country will feel
that we have presented our views at as early a period as
possible, taking all these facts into consideration.

“Let me refer to some circumstances that led to the present
depression in the revenue. During and after the war in the
United States it is well understood that that country lost a
large portion of its export trade, and its manufacturing indus-
tries were to a certain extent paralyzed ; and it was only about
1872 or 1873 that they really commenced to restore their
manufacturing industries, and endeavoured to find an extended
market elsewhere for the manufactures of their country.
Lying as we do alongside that great country, we were looked
upon as a desirable market for their surplus products, and our
American neighbours, always competent to judge of their own
interests and act wisely in regard to them, put forth every
effort to obtain access to our market. It is well known by the
term slaughter-market what they have been doing for the last
four or five years in Canada ; that, in order to find an outlet
for their surplus manufactures, they have been willing to send
them into this country at any price that would be a little
below that of the Canadian manufacturer. It is well known
also that they had their agents in every part of the Dominion
seeking purchasers for their surplus, and that those agents
have been enabled, under our existing laws, to enter those
goods at a price much lower than they ought to have paid,
which was their value in the place of purchase. It is well-
known, moreover, that the United States Government, in order
to encourage special interests in that country, granted a
bounty upon certain manufactures, and so gave to them the
exclusive market of the Dominion, and, under those circum-
stances, we have lost a very important trade, possessed
previous to 1873. In addition to the loss of the West India

Sir Leonard Tilley and National Policy. 271

trade, by the repeal of the 10 per cent, duty on tea, we lost the
direct tea trade, and all the advantages resulting from it, by
its transfer from the Dominion to New York and Boston.
Under all those circumstances, and with the high duty
imposed by the United States on the agricultural products of
the Dominion, by which we are, to a great extent, excluded
from them, while the manufactures of that country are forced
into our market, we could not expect prosperity or success in
the Dominion, so long as that state of things continued.
These are some of the difficulties which have led to our present
state of affairs.

“ Now after having made these few remarks on that head,
I desire to call the attention of the House to the remedy. I
know this is a difficult question — that it is the opinion of some
honourable members, that no matter what proposition you
may make, or what legislation you introduce, it cannot
improve or increase the prosperity of the country. The
Government entertain a different opinion. I may say, at the
outset, it would have been much more agreeable if we could
have met the House without the necessity of increased tax-
ation. But in the imposition of the duties we are now about
to ask the House to impose, it may be said we shall receive
from the imports from foreign countries a larger portion of the
$2,000,000 we require than we shall receive from the mother
country. I believe such will be the effect, but I think that in
making such a statement to this House, belonging, as we do
to, and forming a part of that great country — a country that
receives our natural products without any taxation, everything
we have to send to her — apart from our national feelings, I
think this House will not object if, in the propositions before
me, they touch more heavily the imports from foreign
countries than from our fatherland. I have this to say to our
American friends : In 1865 they abrogated the reciprocity
treaty, and, from that day to the present, a large portion of the
imports from that country into the Dominion have been
admitted free. We have hoped, and hoped in vain, that by
the adoption of that policy we would lead our American
friends to treat us in a more liberal spirit with regard to the

272

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

same articles. Well, after having waited twelve years for the
consideration of this subject, the Government, requiring more
revenue, have determined to ask this House to impose upon
the products of the United States that have been free, such a
duty as may seem consistent with our position. But the
Government couple with the proposal, in order to show that
we approach this question with no unfriendly spirit, a resolu-
tion that will be laid on the table containing a proposition to
this effect : That as to articles named, which are the natural
products of the country, including lumber, if the United States
take off the duties in part or in whole, we are prepared to meet
them with equal concessions. The Government believe in a
reciprocity tariff, yet may discuss free trade or protection, but
the question of to-day is : Shall we have a reciprocity tariff, or
a one-sided tariff?

“We found, as I stated before, that it was important to
encourage the exportation of our manufactures to foreign
countries, and we are prepared now to say that the policy of
the Government is to give every manufacturer in the Dominion
of Canada a drawback on the duties they may pay upon
goods used in the manufactures of the Dominion exported.
We found, also, sir, as I have already pointed out, that under
the bounty system of some foreign countries, our sugar-refin-
ing trade, and other interests, were materially affected. Well,
sir, the Government have decided to ask this House to impose
countervailing duties under such circumstances. I trust that
this proposition will receive the support of both sides of the
House, because some six months since, when the deputation
of sugar refiners in London waited upon Mr. Gladstone and
Sir Stafford Northcote, both of them being gentlemen repre-
senting Free Trade views, they declared, in the most emphatic
terms, that when a Government came in and thus interfered
with the legitimate trade of the country, they were prepared
to impose countervailing duties. To make this matter plain,
and place it beyond dispute, the Government propose to ask
the House for authority to collect on all such articles an ad
valorem duty on their value, irrespective of drawbacks. My
colleagues say, explain it. For instance, a cent and a quarter

Sir Leonard Tilley and National Policy. 273

drawback per pound is granted on cut nails exported to the
Dominion of Canada ; the duty will be calculated on the value
of the nails, irrespective of that drawback. Now, a bounty is
given on sugar in excess of the duty which is paid by the
sugar refiners ; the Government will exact an ad valorem
duty on the value of that sugar irrespective of the drawback.
I may also state, Mr. Chairman, that another reason why I
think our American neighbours should not object to the
imposition of the duties we propose, is this : It is a fact,
though not generally known, that the average percentage of
revenue that is imposed on all imports into the Dominion of
Canada, at the present time, taking the returns for last year as
our criterion, is 13^ per cent. The amount of duty collected
on the imports from Great Britain is a fraction under 17^
per cent. ; while the amount of duty collected on the imports
from the United States is a fraction under 10 per cent.”

After dealing minutely with the changes which would be
effected by the new tariff, Mr. Tilley concluded as follows :

“ It appears to me, Mr. Chairman, and I think the House
will agree with me, that the Government have endeavoured —
whether successfully or not — to carry out the policy that we
were pledged to inaugurate. We have endeavoured to meet
every possible interest — the mining, the manufacturing, and
the agricultural interests. We have endeavoured to assist
our shipping and ship-building interest, which is in a very
depressed condition. We have endeavoured not to injure
the lumber interest, because they now have a very important
article used by their people at about the same rate of duty
they had it before — I refer to pork. They have tea at a
cheaper price than before ; they have molasses cheaper.
These articles enter largely into consumption with them.
They have, as have every other class of exporters in the
Dominion, many advantages, under the propositions that we
are about to submit, that they did not enjoy before. In the
interest of lumbermen and of commerce generally, the present
Government, as well as our predecessors, have expended large
sums of money for the improvement of the navigation of our
rivers and of our coast, by the erection of lighthouses, and

iX

VOL II.

274

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

in their maintenance. This, of course, is an advantage to
the shipping interests as well. A proposition is also to be
submitted to the House, which you will find in the estimates,
to extend a telegraph down the St. Lawrence. This pro-
position was submitted to the people of the Dominion by an
able and experienced gentleman, a member of the House.
I need not name him, because the interest he has taken is
well known. This proposition is in the interest of commerce,
and of our shipping, and of humanity. It is in the interest
of every industry that exports any article from this country
to the old world, because an expenditure of this kind will
reduce the rate of charges in the shape of insurance and other
charges on the shipping, and that is more absolutely in the
interest of the exporter than in the interest of the owner of
the ship.

“ In our policy, as just propounded, we have dealt with
the agricultural interest, the mining interest, the shipping
interest, indirectly with the lumbering interest, and with very
many other interests, and it does appear to me that we have
now arrived at a time when it becomes necessary for this
country, for this Parliament, to decide whether we are to
remain in the position we now occupy, with a certainty that
within two years, with the existing laws upon our statute-
book, almost every manufacturing industry in the country
will be closed up, and the money invested in it lost. The
time has arrived, I think, when it becomes our duty to decide
whether the thousands of men throughout the length and
breadth of this country who are unemployed, shall seek em-
ployment in another country, or shall find it in this Dominion;
the time has arrived when we are to decide whether we will
be simply hewers of wood and drawers of water ; whether we
will be simply agriculturists raising wheat, and lumbermen
producing more lumber than we can use, or Great Britain and
the United States will take from us at remunerative prices ;
whether we will confine our attention to the fisheries and
certain other small industries, and cease to be what we have
been, and not rise to be what I believe we are destined to be,
under wise and judicious legislation, — or whether we will

Sir Leonard Tilley and National Policy. 275

inaugurate a policy that will, by its provisions, say to the
industries of the country, we will give you sufficient protec-
tion ; we will give you a market for what you can produce ;
we will say that, while our neighbours build up a Chinese
wall, we will impose a reasonable duty on their products com-
ing into this country ; at all events, we will maintain for our
agricultural and other productions, largely the market of
our own Dominion. The time has certainly arrived when we
must consider whether we will allow matters to remain as
they are, with the result of being an unimportant and unin-
teresting portion of Her Majesty’s Dominions, or will rise
to the position, which, I believe Providence has destined us
to occupy, by means which, I believe, though I may be over
sanguine ; which my colleagues believe, though they may be
over sanguine ; which the country believes, are calculated to
bring prosperity and happiness to the people, to give employ-
ment to the thousands who are unemployed, and to make
this a great and prosperous country, as we all desire and
hope it will be.”

This would seem to be an appropriate place to give some
particulars of the history of Sir Leonard Tilley, who, if not
the father of the National Policy, is entitled to all the credit for
putting it in shape and working out the details. The follow-
ing account of his life, previous to Confederation, is taken
from a newspaper article that appeared at the time of the
meeting of the Conference in Quebec, to arrange the terms of
union :

“ This distinguished gentleman, who has made so high a
mark in the politics of New Brunswick, was born on May 8,
1818, in Queen’s County, in that province. He was educated
in the Queen’s County Grammar School. He was first elected
to the Provincial Parliament in May, 1850, for the city of St.
John, and sat as its representative during the session of 1851,
when he resigned his seat. He was again elected in 1854, and
at the special session, in November of that year, he was
appointed a member of the Executive Council and Pro-
vincial Secretary. On returning to his constituents in the
same month he was re-elected by acclamation. In May,

276 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

1856, Parliament was dissolved by the Lieut -Governor
of the Province, Mr. Manners Sutton, who rejected the
advice of his Ministers on the prohibitory liquor law ques-
tion. They resigned and gave place to a new Administration.
At the general election which followed Mr. Tilley was
defeated. A man of his great ability and usefulness could not,
however, be long left out of public life with benefit to the
country, and he was recalled to office in June, 1857, when the
Liberal party of the province returned to power. On that
occasion he was opposed before his constituents by Mr. J. W.
Lawrence, but without success, Mr. Tilley being elected by a
majority of over 200. Since that time he has continued in
the Government as Provincial Secretary ; in April, 1861,
becoming senior member of the Executive Council and
Premier of the Government.

“ As a politician, Mr. Tilley is shrewd and penetrating ; as
a debater, ready, fluent and forcible ; as a man, genial and
kind-hearted ; and as a citizen (to use the familiar word of
the neighbouring States) he is scrupulously upright and
honourable. In him are combined, perhaps, more of the
qualities which go to make up a statesman than are possessed
by any of the other delegates from the Maritime Provinces.”

To which we will add, continuing the history down to
1891, that he entered the Dominion Government in 1867 as
Minister of Customs, and became Minister of Finance in 1873,
on the resignation of Sir Francis Hincks, and held that office
until the Government resigned in November of that year. On
the return to power of the Liberal-Conservative party in 1878,
he again accepted the office of Finance Minister, and remained
a member of the Cabinet until November, 1885, when he was
compelled to resign his seat in Parliament and in the Cabinet,
owing to failing health. On his return to office in 1878 he was
intrusted by Sir John A. Macdonald with the preparation of
the Protective Tariff. His propositions were generally affirmed
by his colleagues, and were, with one exception, accepted by
Parliament. He was a member of the Sub-Committee of
Council to arrange the terms of union with the representatives
for Prince Edward Island, British Columbia and Newfound-

LORD LANSECWNE.

Death of the Hon. George Brown.

279

land. He took an active part in the discussion of all finan-
cial questions submitted to Parliament. He was eleven
years a member of the Government of the province of
New Brunswick, and thirteen years a member of the Domin-
ion Parliament. No man in Canada, except the late Sir
John Macdonald, has served as long as a member of Local
and Dominion Governments as has Sir Leonard Tilley,
to which has to be added more than ten years service as
Lieut.-Governor of his native province. He was created a
Companion of the Bath (Civil) by Her Majesty in 1867, and a
Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St.
George May 24, 1879.

On March 25, 1880, the country was horror-stricken at the
news of the attempted assassination of the Honourable George
Brown. He was sitting in his office in the Globe buildings
when a printer named George Bennett came in and asked for
a certificate as to character. He had been dismissed by the
foreman for drunkenness and irregularity. Mr. Brown replied
that he had nothing to do with these things and referred him
to the foreman or paymaster who knew all about him. He
replied that he had already done so and been refused. He
then commenced fumbling at his hip pocket, and it struck Mr.
Brown that he was tryiug to draw a pistol and he at once
seized him. The weapon had meantime been withdrawn and
Bennett discharged it, the ball passing through the fleshy part
of Mr. Brown’s leg. He, however, did not relax his hold, and,
while calling for assistance, managed to disarm his assailant.
He made light of his wound, but was conveyed to his resi-
dence and medical assistance sent for. No danger was
anticipated, but, being a man of great energy, he could not
quietly yield to the necessary restrictions and insisted upon
transacting business and doing other imprudent things. The
result was that violent inflammation set in and after some
days he grew delirious. After that he gradually grew weaker
and weaker, until the struggle finally ceased on May 9th.

It was felt by Mr. Brown’s friends that his long public
services should not be forgotten, or his name allowed to pass
into oblivion, a subscription list was therefore started, and a

280

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

couple of years later a bronze statue was erected to his
memory in Queen’s Park, Toronto. Many prominent men of
both political parties were present on the occasion of the
unveiling, and we have much pleasure in referring to the
tributes paid to his memory.

Honourable Mr. Mowat said : “ In consequence of Mr.
Mackenzie’s not having sufficiently recovered his health to
speak with safety, the office has devolved upon me of saying
something in regard to Mr. Brown from the standpoint of his
party and political friends. It is a great gratification to those
in whose name I speak to know that neither esteem nor admir-
ation of our lamented friend is now confined to his political
allies. The incessant warfare in which for many years he was
engaged, and the uncompromising vigour with which that
warfare was, on his part, carried on, made for him many
enemies. Some of his enemies can see no good in him, but it
is pleasant to know that not a few Canadians of hostile politi-
cal opinions and sympathies have, notwithstanding, a kindly
feeling towards their old opponent, and some appreciation also
of his merits. A distinguished Conservative, a fellow-Senator,
is here to-day to give expression to these sentiments (applause),
and I am glad to see that not a few other Conservatives have
come with him to do honour to the memory of our friend.

“ Mr. Brown is the first public man in Ontario in whose
memory a statue has been erected. Of our public men who
have passed away, not one had more friends than he had, and
I venture to say that not one was more generally lamented.
Those who mourned his death as a personal and public
calamity were to be found in every part of the Dominion,
and amongst Canadians of all classes and all creeds. The
place selected for erecting his statute is, with the approval
of all parties, the park of the University — an institution in
vhose efficiency and prosperity he had, all his life, taken a
most lively interest. The springs of action which governed
his life, are, to a very great extent, to be found in his early
training and associations. He received his education in Edin-
burgh, he left Scotland and came to America with his father
and his father’s family while yet a youth, and two-thirds of

Hon. George Brown’s Statue Unveiled.

281

his life were passed here. By parental example and early
teaching he was, in religion, a strong Protestant and an
earnest Presbyterian, and in politics a Liberal and a Loyalist.
(Applause). The studies and observations of his mature
years confirmed in him the principles in which he had been
educated ; and all his life he stood by those principles.

“ All his life he loved his Queen and the grand old Islands
of the sea over which she has reigned so long and so happily.
All his life he loved British connection and British institu-
tions ; and all his life he did his part in maintaining like
sentiments wherever his influence extended. He was proud
of his British nationality, and was in no haste to discover,
and had no disposition to assume, that the time was near
when the interests of Canada required the severing of our
political relation to the old land ; but he, at the same time,
recognized a supreme duty to be owing to the land of his
domicile, and was always zealous in promoting whatever in
his judgment was for the true and permanent good of Canada.
Nor had any loyal British subject, anywhere, a kinder and
more appreciative feeling than he had towards the great
American Republic on our borders, or towards its energetic
and progressive people.

“ All his life he was in heart and soul a Liberal, as Liber-
alism is understood in England, and as Liberalism is under-
stood in Canada. He was always in harmony with the great
majority of the Liberal party in the Province, and generally,
though not always, with its other leaders. All his life his
sympathies were with the masses everywhere. He loved free-
dom with the profoundest love, and sympathized with all
oppressed or ill-governed people. Slavery he hated with
intense hatred, whatever its locality was, or whatever the
colour of the slave or the master. All his life the subject of
the education of the people was dear to him. He desired to
see the utmost practicable extension of education amongst
all classes, and the greatest possible efficiency in our Public
Schools, our High Schools, and our Colleges. In regard to
our Public Schools he was an earnest advocate for making
them free to all, both as a means of increasing their efficiency,

282

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

and in order to give to the poorest in the land the advantage
of the best schools and on the same footing as others. So in
respect to every other subject of public interest. Regarding
agriculture as the basis of the country’s wealth and pros-
perity, he took a warm and active interest from an early period
in all things relating to the calling of the farmer. He saw
the enormous difference which skill makes in the productive-
ness of the soil, and in the profits of the agriculturist.

“ I have spoken of his religious position. All his life he
continued to be attached to Protestantism, and to that form of
it which Scotchmen have generally preferred to all others. He
had no sympathy with skeptics or agnostics, or with hetero-
doxy of any kind within the pale of his own church.
(Applause). But he appreciated with equal earnestness, and
recognized heartily, the good which there is in all Christian
Churches. He was zealous for the religious equality of all
religious denominations. He desired for them equal rights as
far as legislation or government had to do with these. He
was against exclusive claims on the part of any Church, and
was, therefore, for entire separation between Church and State
as best for Canada, whatever might be the case elsewhere.
For like reasons he was for the secularization of the Clergy
Reserves, aud for the undenominationalizing of the Provincial
University. Until these objects had been accomplished, he
waged hot warfare against all claims which stood in the way.
While the controversy for these objects was going on, he was
necessarily in strong opposition to the Church of England ;
but when the fight was over, and religious equality secured, his
warfare against that Church ceased, and henceforward the
Church of England had, outside of its own pale, no better
friend than Mr. Brown was.

“ So, when the Lower Canada Roman Catholic majority in
the Legislature was found to be opposed to the secularization
of the Upper Canada Clergy Reserves, and when measures,
distasteful to Protestants, were forced through Parliament, or
were threatened, he spoke out the thoughts and fears of his
fellow Protestants on these subjects. But when the Reserves
were secularized, and a constitution was secured which left

Hon. George Brown’s Statue Unveiled. 283

matters of education, and the other local affairs of each
province, to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Province, and all
danger of encroachment from outside influence had become
impossible, his warfare as a politician against Roman Catho-
lics, their priests and professors, came to an end. And before
his death this section of our fellow-citizens gradually resumed
the friendly political and personal relations towards him and
his party, which they had occupied before that warfare
arose.

“ Apart from political questions, in regard to Which there
was and will be the greatest possible difference of opinion, his
journal was recognized by all parties as maintaining a healthy
moral and religious tone. It ever took the moral and religious
side of all non-political subjects with which a public journal
has to deal ; and religious men of all denominations and
political parties felt that, as such, the Globe and its proprietor
was in sympathy with them, whatever many of them thought
of the politics of the paper, or of Mr. Brown’s method of
dealing with his political opponents.

“ In politics he was, for many years of his life, the
acknowledged leader of the Liberal Party in Upper Canada,
and, as such, his ambition was to have public confidence, not
by advocating political doctrines which he did not himself
hold, and by conforming to prejudices which he did not share ;
he desired the esteem and confidence of his fellows to come
from his championship of the policy he loved, and from the
sympathy which that championship should create. He
desired the power which might come from sympathy with him
as a patriot and a Liberal, a friend of religious equality and of
popular rights.

“ Political opponents have sometimes ascribed to him an
overweening desire for office, and have attempted to account
on that hypothesis now for one and now for another of the acts
of his public life ; but nothing could be more unfounded,
and nothing can be more easily disproved. I was behind the
scenes for seven years before I retired from public life in 1864,
and I know that the general feeling of his associates and
followers was, that he was not anxious enough for office, that

284 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

the obtaining of office was not only no part of his policy, but
that his desire was, that his party and himself should remain
in opposition until the objects should be obtained which are
identified with his name, and which, however important and
desirable, not a few of his friends and his foes alike regarded
as impracticable. But the political platform which he adopted
at an early date, and never ceased to insist upon, is sufficient
to demonstrate that office could not possible have been his
object. Take, for example, one of the planks, representation
by population. He insisted that the two sections of the
Province, Upper and Lower Canada, should be represented in
the United Legislature according to population, without
reference to a dividing line between the two sections of the
province. The law, as it stood, gave to each section the same
number of representatives, and the population of Upper
Canada greatly exceeded that of Lower Canada. Mr. Brown
insisted that this was unjust, and in the resolutions which he
from time to time moved in the Legislative Assembly, and in
the speeches which he made there and elsewhere, his habit was
to trace all political grievances to the absence of that repre-
sentation in Parliament to which Upper Canada was entitled.
This policy was calculated to unite, and did, to a large extent,
unite Lower Canada in antagonism to him and his party, and
enabled the Government to be carried on with a minority
from Upper Canada. Other planks of his political platform
alienated from him, for many years, a large section of the
Roman Catholic electors of his own province who had
previously belonged to the Liberal Party. His policy in
regard to all these matters, it is plain, was the worst possible
for a politician whose aim was office, and it did not require a
tithe of Mr. Brown’s foresight or sagacity to perceive this.
Looking at his whole life, it is certain that either he was
wholly wanting in desire for political office, or that the desire
had less weight with him than with any other man in
public life.

“ The coalition of 1864 was an example of his boldness of
character. It was a coalition with the men whom for years
he had been attacking and denouncing. That coalition

Hon. George Brown’s Statue Unveiled. 285

brought about the federation of all the provinces of British
America except Newfoundland, and has brought about the
incorporation into Canada of the immense territory then
claimed or occupied by the Hudson Bay Company, a favourite
project of Mr. Brown’s, and settled the principal difficulties
which had heretofore divided Canadian parties. These great
issues could only have been accomplished by means of a coali-
tion of parties. I do not purpose to suggest what share in the
merit of the work belongs to each of the several parties to the
coalition. But all agree that unless Mr. Brown had been a
party to the undertaking, there could have been no coalition
and no Confederation, and the necessity for the changes
which the coalition accomplished arose from Mr. Brown’s
long-continued contention, that constitutional changes were
absolutely necessary both in the public interest and as a
matter of justice and right, and from the part which he had had
in creating a public sentiment throughout Upper Canada in
accordance with this view. He also took an active part in
framing the Constitution which is now embodied in the British
North American Act, and one important feature of it, the
absence of any Legislative Council in this province, may be
regarded as altogether due to him. In some of the other
provinces the example of the Ontario Constitution has since,
in this respect, been followed, and in all probability it will
ultimately be followed in all the provinces of the Dominion.

“ Attempts have sometimes been made to show that in this
or the other act of his life there was inconsistency, and from
the alleged inconsistency dishonesty has been inferred. But
if consistency of opinion and policy is a cardinal virtue in a
public man, it may confidently be said of Mr. Brown that no
leading British or Canadian statesman of any party has ever
pursued a more consistent course than he did. If there had
been more ground than there is for an imputation of incon-
sistency it would be proper to remember that inconsistency
may be honest or dishonest. Inconsistency may be the result
of honest conviction, and apparent inconsistency may be the
necessary consequence of a change of circumstances. Actual
or apparent inconsistency may thus happen to be the duty of

286

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

a good man and earnest patriot. Numerous instances have
occurred in both English and Canadian history, with reference
to which this doctrine has to be borne in mind by the friends
of successful statesmen, politicians and political writers, of all
parties.

“ One of Mr. Brown’s most remarkable qualities was the
readiness with which he was able to throw off the enormous
burdens of his business cares and public anxieties, as if they
were nothing. He could turn away in a moment from any
great subject of interest, and amidst all his cares could confine
his attention to any subject of however little comparative
moment, and appear to be the most care-free of men. In the
social circle he was always a conversable and delightful com-
panion, and in the domestic circle he was a loving, appreciative
and attentive husband, an affectionate, considerate father.

“ I do not profess to set forth Mr. Brown’s faults and
weaknesses. Everyone has these. But I claim for his memory
that he was a man of wonderful power of intellect, wonderful
energy and wonderful industry, an exceptionally vigorous
writer and an exceptionally effective public speaker, and a
man who had all his life many strong friends ; that he began
public life with strong convictions, embracing almost the whole
field of public questions, and that his policy on these questions
was the result of these convictions. I claim for his memory
that as a journalist and a politician, his influence on the whole
was on the side of religion, morality and the public good. He
was for thirty-seven years one of the most prominent public
men in Canada, and during this period he exerted influence
on our country so great that there are but one or two living
men whose friends would claim for them an equal influence.
From what he was, and what he did, his memory is precious,
and will never cease to be precious to many thousands of the
Canadian people. (Loud and prolonged applause).

Honourable G. W. Allan next came forward and said : “ I
have been honoured with the request to address a few words
to you on this occasion, and I do so the more gladly because
I was given to understand that it was the earnest desire of the
friends of the great statesman whose statue has just been

Hon. George Brown’s Statue Unveiled. 287

unveiled to-day, that the ceremony should be as far as possible
divested of any party character, and thus enable all alike,
Conservatives as well as Liberals, to offer fitting homage to
the memory of one who, for nearly forty years, occupied so
conspicuous a place in the political history of Canada. May I
be permitted to say also that it is particularly grateful to me
to be allowed an opportunity, by taking part in this day’s pro-
ceedings, of testifying to the feelings of personal regard which
more intimate acquaintance and intercourse with the late Mr.
Brown during the latter years of his life led me to entertain
for him, and it is a deep satisfaction to me to feel that I pre-
served his friendship unbroken and uninterrupted to the day
of his death.

“To Mr. Brown’s political career it is scarcely necessary
that I should do more than allude, after the eloquent and
enthusiastic address of the Attorney-General, who has natur-
ally spoken of it with all the ardour and admiration of one
who is in perfect sympathy with his subject, but that man’s
mind must indeed be miserably warped and prejudiced who
does not cordially recognize (whatever may be his own
political views) the wonderful ability, the enormous energy,
the untiring zeal with which Mr. Brown originated and
followed up, whether in his place in Parliament or through the
paper he controlled, those measures which he believed to
be for the best interests of his adopted country. Indomitable
energy was, indeed, one of the most striking features in Mr.
Brown’s character, and it was that wonderful force and vigour
which made him for so many years, whether in office or out of
office, the one supreme leader of his party, whose authority
none ventured to question, and gave him a power and
influence which no single public man in this country, except it
be his great Conservative rival, Sir John Macdonald, has ever
attained to. I can testify also, from my personal knowledge
of Mr. Brown, that he threw the same energy into matters
which had no connection whatever with politics, and was at all
times ready, with his vigorous assistance, in all undertakings
which he thought might be useful to the country, or in any
way beneficial to his fellow-citizens.

288

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

“ The Attorney-General has dwelt upon one important
event, perhaps the most important event in its consequences
to this country, in which Mr. Brown bore a principal part.
I need scarcely say that I allude to the Confederation of the
British North American Provinces. In originating and carry-
ing out that great scheme, Mr. Brown acted cordially with
old political opponents as well as friends, and in a noble
picture, lately painted, of the ‘ Fathers of Confederation/
the work of a Canadian artist, which now adorns the vesti-
bule of the Houses of Parliament at Ottawa, there is, I
rejoice to say, preserved an admirable likeness of the great
Liberal chief, who patriotically joined hands with leading
statesmen of all parties to carry through a measure which has
made Canada a nation, and a power in the Empire, of which
she forms a part. There were many other measures in which
Mr. Brown took a leading part during his long political career,
and which Mr. Mowat has touched upon, on which public men
differed widely, and opposed each other with all the bitterness
and violence of party strife, and yet, looking calmly back upon
them, when time and experience have given better opportunity
for forming an impartial judgment, even those who were most
strongly opposed to Mr. Brown will now be ready to recognize
all that was good and patriotic in his objects and motives,
where before they could, perhaps, only see what appeared to
them unwise or injurious. It will, indeed, be an evil day for
Canada when party spirit shall become so rampant that we
cease to appreciate all that is good and noble in a political
opponent.

“ Doubtless, on subjects of such vital interest amid the
struggle and excitement of political warfare, it is not always
easy to do justice to those who are opposed to us, but as it
has been well and generously said in a leading journal of the
day, ‘ after the din and smoke of the contest has passed
away, then good and true men on either side should always
be ready to do justice to their adversaries. And those who
were his strongest opponents are now ready to admit the
patriotism and fortitude which ran through George Brown’s
whole career.’ There was one trait which shone conspicuously

Hon. George Brown’s Statue Unveiled. 289

ously through the whole of Mr. Brown’s public life, and that
was his unswerving loyalty to British connection. Like the
veteran statesman who, this morning, performed what, I am
sure, was to him the loving office of unveiling the statue of
his old and valued friend, George Brown, while claiming for
Canada the fullest political liberty and self-government, would
as soon have cut off his right hand as to countenance or
support anything which looked towards separation from the
Empire. Canada, its interests and its prosperity, had a deep
and abiding hold upon that great heart, but it did not displace
the allegiance which he owed to his Sovereign, nor the
patriotic pride of a loyal subject in the mightiest empire
which the world has ever seen.

“ While yet in the full vigour of life, with convictions as
strong, and acted upon as vigorous^ as ever, but with many
prejudices softened or removed, with a judgment ripened and
matured by long and varied experience — no longer actively
engaged in the thick of party warfare, but occupying a posi-
tion which seemed to promise many long years of public use-
fulness as a member of a body of whose rights and constitu-
tional position he was, to the last day of his life, a staunch
defender, still recognized alike by friends and opponents as
a power in the land — George Brown was suddenly stricken
down, and after many weeks of suffering was carried to his
grave, mourned by men of all parties, who alike acknow-
ledged ‘ that a great man in Israel ’ had, indeed, been taken
away. Fitting then it is that all should take a generous and
loving part in this day’s ceremony, and that noble statue,
which has been given to-day to the people of Canada, speaks
forth as it were, to all who gaze upon it — not only now, but
in the generations to come — the true patriotic sentiment that
Canadians, without distinction of party, will ever honour and
respect the memory of all that is good and great in the public
men of their common country.” (Applause).

VOL II.

19

CHAPTER XXXIII.

The Canadian Pacific Railway — Visit of Sir John Macdonald and others to Eng-
land, July io, 1880 — Formation of Syndicate — The contract before Parlia-
ment — Speech of Sir Charles Tupper — His review of the History of the
Railway — The Policy of the Government — The cost contrasted with that
of previous plans — The character of the Syndicate — The Security — The
intentions and responsibilities of the Syndicate — Exemption from taxation
— Prohibition of competing lines — The results hoped for.

N July 10, 1880, Sir John Macdonald, Sir Charles

Tupper, and Mr. John Henry Pope proceeded to Eng-
land for the purpose of interesting capitalists in the building
of the Pacific railway and, if possible, making a contract.
They succeeded in their mission so well that, on September
1 6th, they were able to announce that the preliminaries had
been arranged, and then returned to Canada. They were fol-
lowed by the representatives of the syndicate who, after a con-
ference of a fortnight, signed a carefully prepared contract for
the completion of the work. The terms of this agreement
were not made known until after the meeting of Parliament,
on December 9th. It was a long document of forty-one
clauses, and too technical in its language to be of interest to
the general reader. A better idea of its contents will be
obtained from the following extracts, taken from the very
able speech with which it was brought before the House by
Sir Charles Tupper.

Sir Charles Tupper said : “ Mr. Chairman, it affords me
very much pleasure to rise for the purpose of submitting a
motion to the House in relation to the most important ques-
tion that has ever engaged the attention of this Parliament
— a motion which submits for the approval of this House the
means by which that great national work, the Pacific railway,
shall be completed and operated hereafter in a way that has
more than once obtained the approval of the House and the
sanction of the people of this country, and upon terms more
favourable than any that have ever previously been offered to
the House. I shall be obliged, Mr. Chairman, to ask the
indulgence of the House while, at some considerable length, I

Speech on C. P. R. Contract.

291

place before it the grounds upon which I affirm that this reso-
lution embodies the policy of the Parliament of Canada, as
expressed on more than one occasion, that these resolutions
present terms for the consideration of this Parliament for the
completion of this work more favourable than any previously
submitted. And, sir, I have the less hesitation in asking the
indulgence of the House, because I ask it mainly for the
purpose of repeating to the House statements made by gentle-
men of much greater ability than myself, and occupying
positions in this House and country second to no other, and
but for what took place here yesterday, I would have felt
warranted in expressing the opinion that the resolutions, grave
and important as they are, would receive the unanimous
consent of this Parliament.”

Mr. Blake — “ Hear, hear.”

Sir Charles Tupper — “ I would, I say, have been warranted
in arriving at that conclusion but for the very significant
indications that were made from the other side of the House,
because these resolutions only ask honourable gentlemen on
both sides of the House to affirm a proposition to which they
have again and again, as public men, committed themselves.

“ I need not remind the House that when my right
honourable friend, the leader of the Government, occupied in
1871 the same position which he now occupies, the policy of
constructing a great line that would connect the two great
oceans which form the eastern and western boundaries of the
Dominion of Canada received the approval of this House.
And not only did the policy of accomplishing that great work
receive the endorsation of a large majority in the Parliament
of this country, but in specific terms, the means by which that
work should be accomplished, were embodied in the form of a
resolution, and submitted for the consideration of Parliament.
It was moved by the late lamented Sir George Cartier : ‘ That
the railway referred to in the Address to Her Majesty concern-
ing the union of British Columbia with Canada, adopted by
this House on Saturday, April 1st, should be constructed and
worked by private enterprise and not by the Dominion
Government, and that the public aid to be given to secure that

292

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

undertaking, should consist of such liberal grants of land and
such subsidy, and any other aid not unduly pressing on the
industry and resources of the country, as the Parliament of
Canada shall hereafter determine.’ ”

Mr. Blake — “ That was the resolution first brought down.”
Sir Charles Tupper — “ That was the first resolution, and it
was amended to state more strongly that the work should not
involve an increase in the existing rate of taxation. The
honourable gentlemen will agree with me that it embodies the
mode upon which the road should be constructed. Now, sir,
although honourable gentlemen in this House, although the
two great parties represented in this House, may entertain
differences of opinion as to the construction of the railway,
and the means that may be adequate to its accomplishment,
the House was unanimous in that, because the honourable
gentlemen representing the Opposition in this House sup-
ported a resolution introduced as an amendment to ours by
the present Chief Justice Dorion, declaring that the road
should be constructed in no other way, adding to the resolu-
tion the words ‘ and not otherwise.’ The object of which
was to make it impossible for any government to secure the
construction of the road in any other mode than through the
agency of a private company, or aided by a grant of lands and
money. And while the resolution, moved by Sir George
Cartier, declaring that the work should be constructed in that
way, received the support of every gentleman on this side of
the House, the still stronger affirmation moved by Mr. Dorion,
that the work should not be done in any other way, received, I
believe, the support of every gentleman on the other side of
the House. Therefore, I think I may say that the policy of
Parliament, not the policy of any one party, was distinctly
affirmed in the resolution placed on the journals in 1871.

“In 1872 it became necessary to state in distinct terms
what aid the Government proposed, under the authority of
that resolution, to offer for the construction of the railway.
The journals of 1872 will show that Parliament, by a deliber-
ate vote and by a very large majority, placed at the service of
the Government a sum of $30,000,000 in money, and a grant

Speech on C. P. R. Contract.

293

of 50,000,000 acres of land for the construction of the main line,
and an additional amount of 20,000 acres of land per mile for
the Pembina branch of eighty-five miles, and of 25,000 acres of
land per mile for the Nipigon branch. At that time, sir, I may
r'emind the House that it was expected, as possibly may prove
to be the case yet, that the line of the Pacific railway from
Nipissing westward would run to the north of Lake Nipigon ;
and provision was therefore made for a branch, by a vote of
25,000 acres of land per mile for one hundred and twenty miles
to secure connection between Lake Superior and the main
line. Now, sir, these terms became the subject of very consid-
erable discussion in this House and out of it ; and the Govern-
ment having been sustained by a majority placing at their
disposal that amount of money and that amount of lands to
secure the construction of the railway, and the term of Parlia-
ment having expired, the House was dissolved and the
country appealed to. And, sir, after that question was placed
before the country, a very sufficient working majority was
returned to support the Government and confirm the policy
which the House had adopted, both as to the mode in which
the work was to be constructed, and as to the public money
and public lands which the Government were authorized to
use for the purpose of securing the construction of this work.

“ Under the authority of this House in 1872, and under the.
authority of the people of this country, the Government
entered into a contract with a number of gentlemen, who sub-
sequently selected Sir Hugh Allan as the president of the
company, for the purpose of constructing the railway on the
terms that I have now mentioned to the House. I need not,
at this period, remind the House that that company, embrac-
ing a number of the most able, leading, and influential men in
finance and commerce, proceeded to England, at that time at
all events the great money market of the world — I might
almost say that it was then the only market in the world.
They proceeded to England, and exhausted every means in
their power to obtain the support of financial men in such a
way as to enable them to carry that contract to completion.
If my recollection does not fail me, the honourable leader of

294

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

the late Government on more than one occasion expressed the
hope that that company would be successful. He always
expressed his strong conviction that the means were altogether
inadequate to secure the object in view ; but I think that on
more than one occasion he expressed the patriotic hope that
these gentlemen would succeed in obtaining the capital
required, upon those terms. But, sir, they did not succeed
as every person knows. After having exhausted every effort
in their power, they were obliged to return and surrender the
charter, under which they received authority to endeavour to
obtain money for the construction of this great work.

“ Well, sir, a very unpleasant result followed, and the then
Government of this country met with a defeat. The means
placed at their disposal to secure the construction of the great
work which these gentlemen had in hand proved inadequate,
and the Government also succumbed to the pressure from
honourable gentlemen opposite. It is not a pleasant topic,
and I will not dwell any longer upon it than is absolutely
necessary to introduce the Administration which followed,
led by the honourable member for Lambton. Now, sir, I
have said on more than one occasion that in my judgment,
inasmuch as the only authority which Parliament had given
for the construction of the railway required that it should be
done by a private company, aided by a grant of land and
money, and inasmuch as the resolution embodying that state-
ment, as the honourable leader of the Opposition has cor-
rectly reminded me, also embodied the statement that it
should not increase the existing rate of taxation, and inas-
much as the Finance Minister of the Government at once
announced to Parliament the fact that there was a great
impending deficiency between the revenue and expenditure,
it became patent that no progress could be made except in
contravention of both these propositions. I have said before )
and I repeat now, that in my judgment the honourable
leader of the then Government would have been warranted
in stating that he was obliged to leave the question of the
construction of the railway in abeyance. But, sir, he did
commit himself in the most formal and authentic manner to

Speech on C. P. R. Contract.

295

the construction of the road, and notwithstanding the diffi-
culties which had occurred, he appealed to the people of this
country in the most formal manner in which it is possible.

“ The House will, perhaps, allow me to draw attention to
some very important statements contained in his manifesto.
The honourable gentleman said : ‘ We must meet the diffi-
‘ culty imposed on Canada by the reckless arrangements of the
‘ last Government, with reference to the Pacific railway, under
*' which they pledged the land and resources of this country
‘to the commencement of that gigantic work in July, 1873,
‘and to its completion by July, 1880.’ The honourable gentle-
man will see that the term ‘ reckless arrangement ’ is con-
fined and limited by the honourable gentlemen to the short
time which we had allowed ourselves for the construction of
the work, and not to the work itself. The honourable gentle-
man further said : ‘ That contract has already been broken.

‘ Over a million of dollars has now been spent in surveys and
‘ no particular line has as yet, been located. The bargain is
‘as we always said, incapable of literal fulfilment. We must
‘ make arrangements with British Columbia for such a relaxa-
‘ tion of the terms as will give time for the completion of the
‘ surveys and subsequent prosecution of the work, with such
‘ speed as the resources of the country shall permit of, and
‘ without too largely increasing the burden of taxation upon
‘ the people.’ The honourable gentlemen went on to say that
they must, in the meantime, obtain some means of communi-
cation across the continent, and that it would be their policy
to ‘ unite the enormous stretches of magnificent water com-
‘ munication with the lines of railway to the Rocky Moun-
‘ tains.’

“In 1874 the honourable gentleman introduced a Bill for
the purpose of providing for the construction of the railway,
and in the course of a very able and exhaustive speech he
placed very fully on record the opinions which he held, and
which embodied the opinions of the Government at that time.
He stated, as will be seen on reference to the Hansard of May
12, 1874, that ‘the duty was imposed upon Parliament of
‘providing a great scheme of carrying out the obligations

296 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

imposed upon us by the solemn action of Parliament in this
‘ matter. The original scheme was one that I opposed at the
‘ time of its passage here, as one that in my mind then seemed
‘ impracticable within the time that was proposed, and imprac-

* ticable also within the means proposed to be used to accom-
‘ plish it.’ I wish to invite the attention of the House to the
formal declaration made on the floor of Parliament by the
late Prime Minister, that the means that Parliament had
placed at the disposal of the late Government by their prede-
cessors, $30,000,000 and 54,000,000 acres of land, was
utterly inadequate to secure the construction of the work.
Then the honourable gentleman continues, ‘ I have not changed
‘ that opinion, but being placed here in the Government, I am
‘ bound to endeavour, to the utmost of my ability, to devise

* such means as may seem within our reach to accomplish in
‘ the spirit, if not in not in the letter, the obligations imposed
‘ upon us by the treaty of union — for it was a treaty of union —

* with British Columbia.’ I am sure that British Columbia will
be very glad to be again reminded that the leader of the
Opposition maintained that this was an absolute treaty of
union with British Columbia.

“ In 1875 the honourable gentleman, having had an oppor-
tunity of considering the proposals which were embodied in
his Bill, to which I shall invite the attention of the House
more especially at a later period, obtained authority from this
House to go on with the immediate construction of the rail-
way by the direct agency of the Government, for he could not
obtain it in any other way. Having obtained power from this
House to give, not only $10,000 per mile for every mile
between Lake Nipissing and the shores of the Pacific, and
20,000 acres of land per mile, but also to give $10,000 in cash
per mile for the branch eighty-five miles long to Pembina,
and 20,000 acres ; and $10,000 and 20,000 acres per mile
for the Georgian Bay branch of eighty-five miles long ; and
also to give the further sum of four per cent, interest for
twenty-five years upon such sums as might be found necessary
in order to secure the construction of the work.

“ In 1876, after longer experience, after having found that

Speech on C. P. R. Contract.

297

the financial difficulties of the country had certainly not
decreased, the honourable gentleman was still undismayed, for
in 1876, from the high and authoritative position of a Prime
Minister submitting the policy of his Government to the
country, after full and deliberate consideration, he enunciated
the following views : ‘We have felt from the first that while it
‘ was utterly impossible to implement to the letter the engage-
* ments entered into by our predecessors, the good faith of the
‘ country demanded that the Administration should do every-
‘ thing that was reasonable, and in their power, to carry out the
‘ pledges made to British Columbia, if not the entire obligation,

‘ at least such parts of it as seemed to be within their power,

‘ and most conducive to the welfare of the whole Dominion, as
‘ well as to satisfy all reasonable men in the province of British
‘ Columbia, which province had fancied itself entitled to com-
‘ plain of an apparent want of good faith in carrying out these
‘obligations. In endeavouring to accomplish this result we
‘ have had serious difficulties to contend with, to which I shall
‘shortly allude. The Act of 1874 prescribes that the Govern-
‘ ment may build the road on contract in the ordinary way, or
‘ it may be built on the terms set forth in Section 8, which
‘provides that the Government may pay $10,000 and grant
‘ 20,000 acres of land per mile, with four per cent, for twenty-five
‘ years upon any additional amount in the tenders, to a com-
‘ pany to construct portions of the line. The intention of the
‘ Government was, as soon as the surveys were in a sufficiently
‘ advanced state, to invite tenders for the construction of such
‘ portions of the work as in the judgment of Parliament it might
‘ be considered desirable to go on with, and that in the mean-
‘ time the money that had been spent in grading should be
‘held to be a part of the $10,000 a mile referred to in Section
‘ 8. Whether the Government would be in a position during
‘ the coming season to have contracts obtained and submitted
‘ to Parliament for the whole line at its next session, is perhaps
‘problematical.’ So that the honourable gentleman in 1876
not only contemplated going on steadily with the prosecution
of the work, or very important sections of the work, but he
had it in contemplation to invite tenders for the construction

298 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

of the whole railway on terms which, as I shall show specific-
ally hereafter, were largely in excess of any authority we ever
obtained from Parliament, and terms that, as I have said
before, he himself held, and I suppose conscientiously held, to
be utterly inadequate.

“ In 1877, after another year’s experience, the honourable
gentleman again stated the policy that still was the policy of
his Administration in reference to this work. The late
Administration in entering into the agreement for bringing
British Columbia into the Confederation had an express obli-
gation as to the building of the railway across the continent,
from Lake Nipissing on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the
west, within a specified number of years. ‘ When the present
‘ Administration,’ he said, ‘acceded to power, they felt that this
‘ like all treaty obligations, was one which imposed upon them
* certain duties of administration and government which they
‘ had no right to neglect, and that they were bound to carry the
‘ scheme practically into effect to the extent that I have indi-
‘ cated. The whole effort of the Administration from that day
‘ to this has been directed to the accomplishment of this object
‘ in the way that would seem to be most practicable and most
‘ available, considering the difficulties to be encountered and the
‘ cost to be incurred/ So that down to 1878, the House will see,
the honourable gentleman still remained true to the obligation
of the rapid construction of the railway, of its construction by
the agency of a private company, and a grant of land and
money. In 1878, the last occasion on which the honourable
gentleman, with the authority of Prime Minister, discussed the
question, he said, ‘ There can be no question of this, that it
‘ was in itself a desirable object to obtain railway communica-
‘ tion from one end of our Dominion to the other, traversing
‘ the continent from east to west. So far as the desirability of
‘ obtaining such a connection may be concerned, there can be
‘ no real difference of opinion between any two parties in this
‘ country, or amongst any class of our population.’ So that I
am very glad, on this important question, in submitting reso-
lutions of such magnitude for the consideration of this House,
to have the anthority of the leader of the late Government,

Speech on C. P. R. Contract.

301

after years of close and careful examination of this question,
given to the House and the country, that it was a matter, not
only of vital importance to the country, but upon which both
parties were agreed, not only in this House, but outside of it.

“In 1878 the honourable gentleman also said : ‘ I have to
‘ say in conclusion that nothing has given myself and the
‘Government more concern than the matters connected with
‘the Pacific railway. We are alive to this consideration — that
‘ it is of vast importance to the country that this road should
‘ be built as soon as the country is able to do it without impos-
‘ ing burdens upon the present ratepayers which would be
‘intolerable/ I quite agree with the honourable gentleman in
that statement, and I am proud to be able to stand here
to-day and offer for the honourable gentleman’s consideration,
and I trust, after full consideration, for his support, a proposi-
tion that will secure to this country the construction of that
which he has declared to be not only a matter of honour to
which the country was bound, but a matter of the deepest
necessity to the development of the country, upon terms that
will not impose any intolerable burdens on the ratepayers.

“In 1878 there was a general election, the result being that
my right honourable friend (Sir John Macdonald) was again
charged with the important duty of administering the public
affairs of this country, and again brought face to face with this
great work. We found ourselves then called upon to deal with
a work upon which a large amount of public money had been
expended, and in a way that would prove utterly useless to the
country unless measures were taken promptly to carry, at all
events, the work under construction to completion. We, there-
fore, were not in a position to effect any change of policy, as
honourable gentlemen opposite will see. But we came
to Parliament to reaffirm the policy of utilizing the lands of
the North-West for the purpose of obtaining the construction
of that vast work. There was every reason in the world why
we should adopt that policy in the first instance and return to
it afterwards. Every person knows that the development of
this great territory was concerned in this gigantic undertak-
ing ; that, irrespective of the question of the connection of

302

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

British Columbia, the progress and prosperity of Canada were
to be promoted by the construction of the railway. We were,
therefore, compelled to take it up as we found it, and go on
with it as a Government work. To make the work, upon
which so much had already been expended, of use to the
country, we asked the House to place at our disposal 100,000,-
000 of acres for the purpose of covering the expenditure in
connection with the railway. We felt that by that means we
should obtain the means of recouping to the treasury every
dollar expended on this work. Honourable gentlemen also
know that we proposed to obtain the co-operation of the
Imperial Government.

“ Although we had not propounded the policy of carrying
on this work by the Government, we took up the work as we
found it. We placed under contract the 127 miles of the road
which the leader of the late Government had announced it as
his intention to build, which he had assured the people of
British Columbia he intended to build, and which, under the
terms of Lord Carnarvon, he was bound to place under
contract. When we met Parliament with the statement that
we were going on with this work, I think we scarcely met with
the amount of aid and co-operation from gentlemen opposite
to which we were entitled. As we were only carrying out
what they proposed, we had a right to expect to be met in a
manner different to that in which we were met by them. The
leader of the Opposition moved — and in making this motion
he submitted a resolution directly in antagonism to the policy
of the Government which he supported, and to his own recorded
utterances on the floor of this House — that we should break
faith with British Columbia and with Lord Carnavon, and that
we should give — I was going to say the lie — to Lord Dufferin,
who stated on his honour as a man that every particle of the
terms of agreement with British Columbia was in a state of
literal fulfilment. The result of the moving of this resolution
was to place on the records of Parliament a vote of 13 1 to 49
that good faith should be kept with British Columbia ; but we
owed it to Canada to take up this work and prosecute it in
such a way as we believed was absolutely necessary in order

Speech on C. P. R. Contract.

303

to bring it within such limits as would enable us to revert to
the original policy of building the road by means of a com-
pany ; and had we not placed that section under contract in
British Columbia, had we not vigorously prosecuted the one
hundred and eighty-five miles wanted to complete the line
between Lake Superior and Red River, we would not have
been able to stand here, laying before the House the best
proposal for the construction of the road which has ever been
made to this Parliament. (Cheers).

“ When the Government of Canada had to present them-
selves to capitalists, either in this country or in the United
States or in England, and show how that year after year they
had to meet Parliament with an alarming deficit and were
unable to provide for it, and were adding from year to year to
the accumulated indebtedness of the country, not for the pros-
ecution of public works that were going to give an impetus to
our industries, but merely to enable the ordinary expenditure
of the country to be met, they failed. But when all this was
changed, the aspect of affairs in relation to this work was also
changed. Under the previous condition of things my honour-
able friend opposite could not obtain offers in response to the
advertisements which he published all over the world. The
honourable gentleman might fairly assume that we could not
obtain any offers either. But as I say — when under a changed
policy, and when the Government had successfully grappled
with the most difficult portions of this great work, and shown
to the capitalists of the world, under the authority of this
House, that 100,000,000 acres of land were placed at our
disposal for the prosecution of the undertaking that we were
not afraid to go on with its construction, or afraid to show
that the construction of the railway was a work capable
of fulfilment ; when we proved to the capitalists of the world
that we ourselves had some confidence in this country and in
its development, and that we were prepared to grapple with
this gigantic work, the aspect of affairs was wholly changed.
Well, sir, under these circumstances the Government sub-
mitted their policy to Parliament, and they were met by
obstruction. Last session they were met by a complete

304

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

change of front on the part of the Opposition in this House
and the country.

“ The men who had for five years declared that they were
prepared to construct the Canadian Pacific Railway as a
public work, the men who had pledged themselves to British
Columbia to construct it as a public work, and who had in
this House, in every way that men could, bound themselves,
called a halt in order to obstruct the Government, when we
took the only means by which we could remove the difficulty
which had prevented the honourable gentlemen obtaining any
offers in reply to the advertisement that he had sent all
over the country. I have the advertisement in my hand.
It was published on May 29, 1876, and it says that
‘they invite tenders to be sent in, on or before January,
‘ 1877, under the provision of the Canadian Pacific Railway
‘ Act of 1874, which enacts that the contractors for its construc-
‘ tion and working shall receive lands or the proceeds of lands. 5
‘ Then it goes on to say that ‘ the proceeds of the lands at the
‘rate of 20,000 acres, and cash at the rate of $10,000 for each
‘ mile of railway constructed, together with interest at the rate
‘ of four per cent, for twenty-five years from the completion of
‘ the work on any further sum which may be stipulated in the
‘ contract, shall be paid, 5 and that ‘ the Act requires persons
‘ tendering to state in their offer the lowest sum, if any, per
‘ mile, upon which such interest will be required. 5 That adver-
tisement was published all over the world, in Great Britain, in
this country, and I presume in the United States, and to it no
response was made. I believe, under the circumstances to
which I have adverted, that the time had come when we
might deal with this matter from a better position. 55

Sir Charles then went into calculations to show the cost of
the road under the previous and present proposed plans to be
as follows: 1873, $84,700,000; 1874, $106,387,300 ; 1880,

$78,000,000 ; and dwelt at length on the value of the lands
and the probable cost of the work. On the latter point we
quote as follows :

“ I will now give honourable gentlemen opposite an
authority as to the cost of this work about tb be undertaken

Speech on C. P. R. Contract.

305

that I think they will be compelled to accept. On May 12,
1874, the honourable gentleman (Mr. Mackenzie) said the
cost from Lake Superior to Burrard Inlet would probably be
$100,000,000, or something like that. This was an estimate
from the leader of the late Government, the then Minister
of Public Works, and submitted to Parliament on the
authority of his own engineers, with all the judgment and
experience that could be brought to bear upon it — that $100,-
000,000 would be required for the road from Lake Superior
at Thunder Bay to the Pacific ocean ; and yet the present
proposition secures the construction of the entire road within
Hen years from the first of July next, from Lake Nipissing to
Burrard Inlet, at a cost to the country, at the estimate hon-
ourable gentlemen opposite placed on the lands, of $78,000,-
coo.” He continued : “We propose to give $10,000 per mile
and a grant, the same as that proposed by the late Govern-
ment, of 20,000 acres, and we invite intending competitors to
state the amount for which they will require the guarantee at
four per cent, in order to give them what they may deem a
sufficient sum wherewith to build the road. We know that
some think $10,000 per mile and 20,000 acres of land, suppos-
ing they realize on an average $1 an acre, will not build the
road. It would more than build it in some parts, but from
end to end it is evident it would not build it. The Inter-
colonial railway will cost $45,000 a mile, traversing on the
whole a very favourable country. The Northern Pacific rail-
way, in the accounts published by the company, has cost,
so far as it has been carried, that is to Red River, $47,500, or
$48,000 per mile in round numbers. That road traverses
almost wholly a prairie region easily accessible, and where
materials were easily found, and is altogether quite as favour-
able as the most favourable spot of any part of our territories
— with this advantage, that it was much nearer to the pro-
ducers of supplies than any portion of our line except that
on the immediate borders of the lakes. The Central Pacific
I will not touch, as the cost of that road was so enormous
as not to afford any criterion at all, because of the extraord-
inary amount of jobbing connected with it. But, judging

VOL II.

20

30 6 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

from the cost of other railways, we have no reason to suppose
it will be possible to construct this line from end to end at
a less price than $40,000 per mile, and it may exceed that
by several thousands of dollars. Part of it will, of course,
exceed that very much, though on the whole of the sections
east of the Rocky Mountains, something in the neighbour-
hood of that figure will cover the outlay/

“ The leader of the late Government further stated that
the road could not be built as a commercial enterprise, and
expressed a desire that the gentlemen who undertook the
responsibility should show him how it was possible to con-
struct a railway 2,500 miles long out of the pockets of a
population of four millions, passing, during almost its entire
length through an uninhabited country and for a still greater
portion of its length through a country of very rough char-
acter. I am glad the time has come when we can respond to
the honourable gentleman. We are in a position to show him
now that that gigantic work can be accomplished, and upon
terms more favourable than any the most sanguine person in
this country ventured to look for. And I ask the honourable
gentleman not to forget, now that he is sitting on the Opposi-
tion benches, that in estimating the cost as a Minister he felt
he would not be doing his duty if he did not draw the atten-
tion of the House to the fact that when the road was con-
structed the liability resting upon the country would not be
discharged, but just commencing.

“ The honourable gentleman (Mr. Mackenzie) went on to
say : ‘ Supposing it only takes the minimum amount estim-
ated by Mr. Sandford Fleming, viz., 100,000,000, you have
‘a pretty good idea of what it must cost the country in the
‘end. When you double the debt of the country you will not
‘be able to accomplish the borrowing of the sum of money
‘ that would be required to build the road, paying the attend-
‘ ant expense of management and the debt, interest, and every -
‘ thing else connected with it/ The honourable gentleman
opposite last session also enforced very strongly upon our
attention the fact that if we went on with this work as a
Government work, and stood pledged in the face of the

Speech on C. P. R. Contract.

307

country and of the financial world to an expenditure of eighty
to a hundred million dollars for the construction of the rail-
way, we could hardly be surprised if it increased the cost
of the money we were obliged to borrow in the money
markets of the world. The honourable gentleman said : ‘ If
1 you add six per cent, upon the minimum amount to the
‘ existing obligations of this country, you will have in addition
‘ to our present annual burdens, $6, 000,000, which, added to
‘ the cost of management, would probably make a continuous
‘ drain of $12,000,000 before you would have a cent to apply to
‘ the ordinary business of the country.’ A rather startling
ground for the honourable gentleman to take, but one which
commended itself to all those who listened to the honourable
gentleman’s address.

“ The honourable member for Lambton continued : ‘ Then
‘ we come to the consideration of what would be the
‘ position of the road after it was completed. W e have it on
‘ Mr. Fleming’s authority, that until at least 3,000,000 of
‘ people are drawn into that uninhabited territory, it is quite
‘ impossible to expect the road to pay its running expenses.
‘ Mr. Fleming estimates these at not less than $ 3 , 000, 000 per
£ annum, and they have still further to be supplemented by the
‘ proportion of money required each year to renew the road.
‘ First, we would pay $100,000,000 to build the road ; next,
‘ $8,000,000 to operate it, subject to the deduction of whatever
‘ traffic the road received ; and, thirdly, we would have to
‘ renew sleepers and rails every eight years unless we used steel
‘ rails.’ This is the pleasant picture which the honourable
gentleman himself drew for the consideration of the House
and country. And now it appears he hesitates to secure the
construction and operation of this road for ever at a cost of
$78,000,000.

“ My honourable friend, the leader of the Opposition (Mr.
Blake), no longer than a year ago, was good enough to give
the House his opinion as to the cost of this road, and the
liability that would be incurred, and I invite his attention to
his own estimate as he then gave it. He said : ‘ Again, of
‘ course, the through traffic depends on the road being first-

308 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

‘ class, and we must remember that after we have spent all the
‘ Minister proposes, we shall have, not a Pacific, but a coloniz-
‘ ation road. According to the old system of construction, the
1 central section would cost, including the other items I have
‘ mentioned, altogether over $42,500,000, leaving out entirely
‘ both ends. What are the ends to cost ? Forty-five million
‘ dollars is, as I have stated, the cost from Edmonton to Burrard
‘ Inlet on the west, and the cost from Fort William to Nipissing
‘ on the east the honourable member for Lambton estimates at
* $32,500,000. Thus the ends make up together $77,000,000,

‘ the centre and the past expenditure to $42,500,000, making a
‘ total of $120,000,000/ And yet the honourable gentleman is
startled and astounded, and exhibits the most wonderful
alarm, when he finds a proposal laid on the table of the House
to secure the construction of all that work which, at the
cheapest rate, was, according to him, to cost $120,000,000, for
$78,000,000.

“The honourable gentleman (Mr. Blake) proceeded to say,
that besides this enormous expenditure to which he had
referred, he did not know how many millions of interest there
would be. Fie said : ‘ Six millions a year they had to consider
‘ for running expenses, which Mr. Fleming estimated at
‘ $8,000,000, and which his (Mr. Blake’s) honourable friend
‘ (Mr. Mackenzie) estimated at a gross sum of $6,750,000 a
‘ year for the whole line, or $4,500,000 a year from Fort William
‘ to the Pacific. Of course, against this sum was to be set the
‘ receipts which, in some sections, perhaps, would meet expendi-
‘ ture, but in the early days, if not for a long time, he (Mr.
‘ Blake) believed the road would have to be run at a loss/ I
know that this is an authority for which the honourable
leader of the Opposition has a most profound respect (cheers
and laughter), and I trust that in submitting such criticisms as
in the interests of the country every Government measure of
this kind ought to receive, the honourable gentleman will not
lose sight of the position he took in criticising our proposals
twelve months ago.

“ I trust I have given to the House sufficient evidence to
show not only that the proposal which I have the honour to

Speech on C. P. R. Contract.

309

submit to Parliament is entitled to the favourable considera-
tion of the Opposition, not only that it is greatly within the
amount voted by this House in 1873, and subsequently in
1874, for the construction of the railway, but that it is a
contract based upon figures, which compared with those which
honourable gentlemen opposite, after all their experience in
connection with this work, regarded as altogether insufficient
for its construction, are exceedingly favourable to this country.
Now I am bound to say I never felt more grateful in Par-
liamentary life than when, notwithstanding the startling state-
ments made by those honourable gentlemen, this House placed
100,000,000 acres at the disposal of the Government for the
purpose of constructing the railway. I knew that every intel-
ligent man in this House and out of it regarded that measure
as of vital importance to the country. I knew they felt it was
a duty we owed to the country to grapple with this great
work, notwithstanding the enormous liability it involved. The
Government were sensible of this generous feeling on the part
of their supporters in this House in sustaining us, notwith-
standing the fears and the alarm that was sought to be created
by honourable gentlemen opposite when they found them-
selves in Opposition.

“ I say the House can understand the pleasure with which
we meet the people of Canada through their representatives
to-night, and are enabled to say that by the means which we
were authorized to use for the construction of this work, we
are in a position to state not only that the entire construction
from end to end, but that the responsibility of operating it
hereafter, are to be taken off the shoulders of Canada for the
insignificant consideration of something like the cost to the
country of $2,000,000 per annum. That will be the ultimate
cost, assuming that we have to pay the interest on all the
money the syndicate will obtain under this contract. We are
in a position not only to show that, but to show that out of
the 100,000,000 acres of land that Parliament placed two years
ago at our disposal we have 75,000,000 acres left with which
to meet the $2,000,000 of expenditure, and that expenditure
will be diminished until at no distant day we will not only

3io

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

have the proud satisfaction of seeing Canada assume an
advanced and triumphant position, but that she will be relieved
from the expenditure of a single dollar in connection with the
construction or operation of this railway.

“ The gentlemen who have undertaken this work stand
before the people of this country to-day in the strongest posi-
tion that it is possible for gentlemen to occupy in relation to
a great enterprise such as this. The Canadians engaged in
the enterprise are men who are second to none in respect of
commercial standing and capacity, and by their success in
carrying out their own great railway enterprises they have
afforded us the best possible guarantee for the manner in
which they will fulfil their engagements with the Government
and Parliament of Canada. This company embraces capital-
ists, both of our own and of other countries, who are men of
the highest character, men whose names are the best guarantee
that could be offered the people of Canada that any enterprise
they may undertake will be successful. With regard to the
terms of the contract, I do not hesitate to say that no greater
injury could have been inflicted on the people of Canada than
to have made the conditions of the engagement so onerous
that instead of insuring their successful fulfilment, they would
have led to failure. I say that everything that men could do
for the purpose of obtaining the best terms in their power has
been done, but our idea has been that we owed it to Canada
to make a contract that was capable of fulfilment, to give those
gentlemen a fair contract, and afford them a fair opportunity
of grappling with this great, this gigantic enterprise that we
were so anxious to transfer from our shoulders to theirs.
Whether you look at the American, or the Canadian, or at the
English, French or German gentlemen associated with this
enterprise, I believe that Canada has been most fortunate, and
the Government has been most fortunate, in having this work
placed in their hands.

“ It is stated that the security of $1,000,000 for the carry-
ing out of the contract is too small. They say that a paid-up
capital of $5,000,000 within two years, and a deposit of
$1,000,000 is too small. My opinion of security is this — that

Speech on C. P. R. Contract.

3i i

provided you get the parties who are most likely to deal
successfully with the matter, the less security you demand the
better, because in proportion as you lock up the resources of
the party, the more you decrease his power to carry on his
work successfully.

“ The syndicate intend tne road to be completed to the
foot of the Rocky Mountains at the end of three years from
the present time. If it be thought a gigantic work to build
300 miles of railway by this powerful syndicate in a year, I
may tell honourable gentlemen, for their information, that
within the last year a few of these gentlemen completed
between 200 and 300 miles of railway themselves, through a
somewhat similar country ; and therefore it is not an extrava-
gant statement for them to make in stating that they intend
to construct to the foot of the Rocky Mountains in three years
and to build 300 miles of this road during the coming season.
What does that involve ? It involves the expenditure of an
enormous amount of capital at the outset. The very moment
this contract is ratified by Parliament, these gentlemen have
to put their hands in their pockets, and not only rake there-
from $1,000,000 to deposit with us as security, but they have
to put their hands into another pocket the next hour, and take
out another million to equip the road ; and that will be done
within the course of the year. After reading the lachrymose
statements of the honourable leader of the late Government
about these lands and the difficulty of getting them sold, it is
not unreasonable to suppose that with all their energy and
industry it will take two or three years before they can make
these lands to any large extent serviceable by a return of
money from their sale.

“ These gentlemen have, therefore, at the outset, to lay out
an enormous sum of money for equipment and in providing
the plant necessary to run that work during the coming three
years ; and they have in the next place to wait for a consider-
able period before they can receive any return for the lands.
At the end of the three years all that plant will, of course, be
applicable to the other sections. I believe, therefore, the more
it is examined, the more it will be found that in the division of

312

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

money no injustice has been done, and those who place confi-
dence, not in us, but in the statement of the leader of the late
Government, have only to take his own statements, which
have been read to-night, and that was his estimate of $40,000
per mile for the portion to be constructed west of Red River,
to perceive the advantage of the proposed arrangement.
There is another million they have to put their hands into
their pockets to pay us, and that is for the work we have con-
structed west of the Red River, and the material we have on
hand applicable for the purposes of construction,

“Under these circumstances, honourable gentlemen’s minds
will be relieved to know that we have made the very best
division of the money, if the enterprise is to prove anything
but a failure. There is a great expenditure of money to be
made, at the very outset, in bringing people to this country.
I regard this proposal to secure the construction of the Canada
Pacific Railway by the agency of this company, as of the most
vital importance from the point of view that, instead of having
to struggle with railway companies in competition for emi-
grants, we will have a gigantic railway company, with all its
ramifications in the United States, France, Germany, and the
British Islands, co-operating with the Government of Canada.
But all that will involve a present outlay of a very large sum
of money by these gentlemen. The only hope they can have
of having any means of sustaining the railway, if it is con-
structed, is by getting population as rapidly as possible into
the fertile valleys of the North-West, and thus furnish the
traffic which alone can support the operation of this railway.

“ I am told that another very objectionable feature is the
exemption of the lands from taxation. I have no hesitation
in saying I would have been very glad if that was not in the
contract, if it were only to meet the strong prejudice that
exists in this country on that question. But there were two
things we had to consider. One was to make the best bargain
we could for Canada, and the other was not to impose terms,
that without being of any material advantage to the country
would be likely to lead to disaster in the money markets of the
world, when the prospectus was placed on those markets.

Speech on C. F. R. Contract.

3i3

Every one will understand that the position in respect to the
taxation is not changed in the slightest degree from that in
which we stood last year. When we were constructing this
road as a Government work, when my honourable friend was
constructing it by direct Government agency, no taxation
could have been raised on these lands until they were utilized,
or until they were occupied. No province, municipality or
corporation of any kind, at present or that could be created
hereafter, could impose the slightest tax on those lands until
they were sold or occupied ; and when they are sold or
occupied now, that moment they are liable to taxation.

“ I will not stop to discuss the question of the road itself
being exempt from taxation, because honourable gentlemen
have only to turn to the laws of the United States. The
policy of the Government of the United States has always
been that the national lines of railway, the roadway, the road
itself, the stations, everything embraced in the term railway,
should be exempt from taxation. One of the judges of the
courts of the United States declared that as these great lines
of road were national works, were public easements ; that
as they were for the benefit and advancement of the whole
country, they should not be subject to any taxation, state or
municipal. We have, therefore, only followed the practice
that has prevailed in the United States, and that which
honourable gentlemen opposite will feel was incumbent
upon us. What was our position ? We were asking these
gentlemen to come forward and take a position from which we
shrank. I do not hesitate to say that, important as the enter-
prise was, the Government felt it was one of enormous
magnitude, aud trembled almost when they regarded the
great cost of construction and operation of the road when
constructed ; and I ask when we were shifting from our
shoulders to the shoulders of a private company all the
responsibility, I ask this House, in candour, to tell me whether
they do not think that, as far as we could, we ought to have
put these gentlemen in as favourable a position for the con-
struction of the road as we occupied ourselves ? That is all
we have done, and, as I have said before, the moment the

3H

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

lands are utilized and occupied they become liable to taxa-
tion.

“ It is said that a great enormity has been committed by
the prohibition to construct lines running in any other
direction than a certain one — south-west and west by south-
west. Well, sir, I am a little surprised to hear any such
objection, and I shall listen with great interest to honourable
gentlemen on the other side of the House if they have any
objection of that kind to make. A year ago a company, with
as strong claims to consideration as it would be possible for
any company to have on the Parliament of Canada, came to
us for permission to construct a railway. They asked for no
money. They asked no aid. They only asked for permission
to construct a railway of a certain kind. Why did we refuse
it ? Why, sir, we were very sorry to refuse it, but the Govern-
ment, having taken the subject into careful consideration,
decided, inasmuch as Canada was dealing with the construction
of the great Canadian Pacific Railway, and inasmuch as the
only hope of maintaining this road, and of operating it after it
was built, was to retain the traffic of the Canadian North-
West by the trunk line, we came to the conclusion that it was
not in the interests of the country, however greatly any section
might demand and need it, to construct a line which would
carry the traffic of the North-West out of our country, and
leave our trunk line, which had cost the country such a great
sum of money, denuded of the traffic necessary to sustain it.

“ I am glad that I shall not be compelled to trespass
further upon the attention of the House. When I rose I
expressed the pride and pleasure it gave me to be able to
propound to Parliament a measure which will secure in ten
years the construction of the Pacific railway upon terms more
favourable than the most enthusiastic friend of the railway
had ventured to hope, and to which this Parliament will have
the opportunity of putting its seal of ratification. I have the
satisfaction of knowing that throughout this country every
man breathed more freely when he learned that the great
undertaking of constructing and operating the railway was
to be lifted from the shoulders of the Government, and that

Speech on C. P. R. Contract.

3i5

the liability the country was going to incur was to be brought
within, not only the limit which, in its present financial con-
dition, it is prepared to meet, but within such limits that the
proceeds from the sale of the lands granted for the construc-
tion of the line will wipe out all liabilities at no distant day.

“ And I say we should be traitors to ourselves and to our
children if we should hesitate to secure, on terms such as we
have the pleasure of submitting to Parliament, the construc-
tion of the work which is going to develop all the enormous
resources of the North-West, and to pour into that country
a tide of population which will be a tower of strength to every
part of Canada, a tide of industrious and intelligent men who
will not only produce national, as well as individual, wealth
in that section of the Dominion, but will create such a
demand for the supplies which must come from the older
provinces, as well as give new life and vitality to every
industry in which those provinces are engaged.

“ Under these circumstances we had a right to expect
that support which, in justice to themselves and their position
as statesmen, honourable gentlemen opposite should give us.
I say, sir, that looking at this matter from a party point of
view, the lowest point of view, I feel that these gentlemen,
by following the course they propose, are promoting the
interests of the party now in power, just as they promoted
our interests when they placed themselves in antagonism to
the National Policy, which the great mass of the people desired.
Sir, I am disappointed at the course of the honourable gentle-
men, but I hope, upon future reflection, at no distant day the
results of this measure will be such as to compel these gentle-
men candidly to admit that in taking the course which we
have followed we have done what is calculated to promote
the best interests of the country, and that it has been attended
with a success exceeding our most sanguine expectations.”
(Loud and long continued applause).

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Opposition objections to the Pacific Railway Contract — Mr. Blake’s public meet-
ings — The policy he advocated — Sir John Macdonald’s speech — He gives
the history of previous negotiations — Criticises Mr. Blake’s scheme — Dis-
cusses the clauses of the contract seriatim — And ably defends the policy of
the Government — A short account of the Canadian members of the Syndi-
cate, Lord Mount-Stephen, Sir Donald A. Smith, Mr. Angus and Mr.
McIntyre — And of the President, Mr. W. C. VanHorne.

T HE terms of the contract did not meet with the approval
of the Opposition. Mr. Blake criticised it in a very
able speech, examining every clause in the most minute
manner and was followed by other members of his party.
None of the conditions seemed to find favour in their eyes.
They objected to the subsidy, to the time limit, the exemp-
tions from taxations, the clause against competing roads, etc.
Mr. Blake was so much opposed to the fulfilment of the
bargain that, during the Christmas holidays, he organized
public meetings at Toronto and elsewhere, to enable him
better to present his views before the country and thus bring
such pressure upon Parliament that the Government would
not be able to carry their measure. On these occasions he
presented his arguments in a clever and forcible manner which
so impressed his audiences that anti-syndicate resolutions were
passed. In his opening remarks in the St. Lawrence Hall,
Toronto, he said : “ I am very sorry that the circumstances
are such as to require a meeting to be called at this time of
the year. It is a time at which I am sure we would all very
much rather be otherwise occupied than we are to be occupied
to-night. It is a time of social and domestic enjoyment, of
pleasant memories, and of peace and good fellowship, and I
hope that although we are engaged from the necessity of the
case in an occupation somewhat incongruous, yet that enough
of the spirit of this time will prevail to render our discussion
good-humoured and civil with one another. It is with this
view that you have an opportunity to learn something of and
to make up your minds upon the great question before its fate
is irrevocably sealed. It is now only a few days since the

316

Mr. Blake’s Objections to the Contract. 317

Pacific Railway bargain was made public, and within a very
few days we will resume the discussion of it. It was intended
by those who thought they could pass the measure that we
should have closed the discussion before this time, and that
already, before you had an opportunity of informing yourselves
upon it, it should have been made into a law. That intention
has not prevailed, but there is only a short breathing space
before the period at which the peoples’ representatives in
Parliament will be called upon for their votes on this sub-
ject, and in the meantime it is of the highest consequence
that the people themselves, whose interests, both in this gen-
eration and in generations yet unborn, are materially affected
by this measure, should have an opportunity to speak their
minds. Those of us who acted together as the Liberal party
ten years ago, opposed the terms of union with British
Columbia on the score of the obligations then entered into
to construct the Canada Pacific Railway, commencing it within
two years and finishing it within ten years, and we declared
that a work of such gigantic magnitude, over an unknown
country ought not to be stipulated for, either as to its com-
mencement or its conclusion, by any time except that when it
was possible to achieve it with the resources of the country.
We were overruled then, as we may be overruled now, by
the majority in Parliament, and the country was in some
sort bound by obligations, the fatal effect of which is urged
now as the excuse for this bargain to which your assent is
sought.”

The pecuniary result of the contract Mr. Blake estimated to
be, that including the completed portions of the road, which were
to be handed over to the syndicate, they would receive in cash,
or its equivalent, $6,000,000, and 25,000,000 acres of land, which
at $3.18 per acre, would be worth $79,500,000. The cost of
the whole road still to be completed he placed at $50,000,000,
less the Government subsidy of $25,000,000, so that all the
money the syndicate would require to furnish would be
$25,000,000, and for this amount they would get a completed
road costing about $80,000,000, and the land grant valued as
above. If, therefore, these lands only sold for $1.00 per acre

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

318

the syndicate would get the railway free of cost. The policy
which he proposed in place of that of the Government may be
gathered from the following extracts :

“ The true course is to go to work and build the railway
where it is wanted now, to build it to complete the connection
with Thunder Bay (applause), and continue it as the needs of
the settlement of the country require. Railway facilities are
required to settle the North-West. What is needed to pay for
the unproductive ends of this line ? A productive middle
portion. Make the middle, make the backbone, get in the
population. Put the railroad there ; do what is necessary to
give the lands value, and when you have the population and
the sustaining power, then, if you please, proceed with the
construction. They admit these lands will not have a value
unless the railway goes there. You can put it there at the
expenditure of a very few millions of dollars, or a very few
millions of acres of land. You can put it through those very
parts necessary in order to develop the North-West, and give
value to the remainder of the lands and yet keep the bulk of
these lands to acquire the additional value which the railway
will give them. Don’t part with them now when they have not
this value, keep them until then, and when they are worth
money, make their value build the rest of the road.

“ I now v/ant to show you how great economy might be
effected at the eastern end of the road. This proposal to
build the section north of Lake Superior is a new one, for
it has hitherto been regarded by both Governments as a thing
of the future. According to Sandford Fleming’s estimate the
road will cost $22,686,000, or eleven-twenty-fifths of the whole
road. The subsidy in land and money divided so as to give
this branch a fair share would give $11,000,000 and the
same number of acres of land. At $3.18, average price laid
down by Government, or at say $3.00, this land would be
worth $33,000,000, in all equal to a cash subsidy of $44,000,000.
All this is to be sunk in building the eastern link. My proposi-
tion is to establish communication with the West, and furnish
a through line to seaboard at one-eleventh of the cost of this
scheme, and within three instead of within ten years. But

Mr. Blake’s Objections to the Contract. 319

before I talk to you of the railway connection, let me show
you what the country would be if you went no further than
the Sault. If you get up to that point you get to the waters
of Lake Superior, with a good harbour and a run of 300 miles
to Thunder Bay. After which a connection of 460 miles by
rail will take you to Selkirk. You have thus, for nine months
in the year, the directest route that man can devise to the
North-West, and I find that the grades and curves on the
Thunder Bay line are so good that the cost per bushel for
grain over this portion of the Lake Superior route should
not exceed two cents per bushel. It would pay well at 2j^c.
per bushel. The only objections that can be urged against
this route is the necessity for transhipment, and the fact that
it is not open all the year. All that you get by building to
the Sault ; but that is not all. That is the most insignificant
part of the benefit. From the Sault to the Straits of Mac-
kinaw is but thirty or forty miles. From this point westward
a link of some sixty-three miles is already built, and from
the Northern Pacific junction at Duluth the company is
cutting out the road, so that within one or two years there
will be complete railway communication between Duluth and
the Sault. This means a present route to the North-West by
this circuitous line fifty to eighty miles longer than is pro-
posed to be built. It means as practicable a route as you
can ever get to the North-West. It means that you would
get for the expenditure of one-eleventh of what you propose
to spend in the east, in less than one-third of the time, a road
for all purposes equally good by way of all rail connection,
and a first-class land and water route through our own terri-
tory. (Loud cheers).

“That is what it does for the North-West, and for you
in connection with the North-West. But that is not all.
That road is the key of the possession of the trans-con-
tinental trade of nearly 400 miles of the United States of
America. The Northern Pacific Railway is stretching out
towards the Sault, knowing that its shortest line to New York
is through Canada by way of Brockville. Canada has in the
Sault Ste. Marie the key of the position, and to an enormous

320

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

trade ; a trade not simply in the future, though largely so,
perhaps, but capable of enormous improvement in the present.
These men offer in ten years, at an expense of from $20,000,-
000 to $40,000,000 to give you an all-rail communication with
the North-West. I offer you for one-eleventh part of the sum
to give you through railway connection with the North-West
in three years on a first-class road, for the traffic of the north-
western States will be such as to demand first-class accommo-
dation. I offer you in three years not merely the present
small and prospectively large traffic, but also the present large
and infinitely greater traffic of an immense portion of Ameri-
can territory. The shortest air line from San Francisco to
Europe is by the Sault Ste. Marie. Instead of groping for
ten long years, and at infinite cost, through this new wilder-
ness in which your children are asked to wander, . I ask you
to take in three years, at a fraction of the cost, the important
traffic of the North-West and the prospective traffic of the
South-West as well. As to the eastern connection, when it
is demanded let it be built.”

Speaking of freight rates, Mr. Blake said : “ Their first
tariff will necessarily be high, for, as just pointed out by a
gentleman in the audience in the case of the St. Paul,
Minneapolis, and Manitoba, where the traffic is light the rates
must be proportionally heavy. Once that high tariff is fixed
it never can be lowered until the happy day arrives when they
can pay ten per cent, upon the whole of your money invested
in its construction. (Cheers and laughter). Let us see how
the North-West will be affected by this. The middle will
have to pay for the ends, for neither the eastern nor western
sections can be made to pay. So, that the man who has his
grain carried over the prairie section will have to pay not only
a fair price for the carriage, but also the losses upon the
unproductive sections, and on top of all that a dividend upon
the whole capital invested in the road. The syndicate might
sink a few millions of dollars in the road, though it would be
made up to them from sales of land. Suppose they invested
$5,000,000, and the road cost $90,000,000, they would make

Mr. Blake’s Objections to the Contract. 321

$9,000,000, a year. Wouldn’t you like to belong to the
syndicate?” (Loud cheers and laughter).

It is with no intention to do injustice to Mr. Blake’s able
effort that we do not quote more of it. From his point of
view it was a masterly production and demanded an answer.
This answer was given by Sir Charles Tupper at London and
other places, and the speeches of these two great political
gladiators will furnish to the careful reader the best view of
the position taken by the Government and by the Opposition
on this great question. We will, therefore, only add that Mr.
Blake entirely disapproved of the conditions, and considered
the contract a “ monstrous abortion.” We are quite safe in
saying that even though no modification should have taken
place in his views during the last ten years, a great change
has taken place in the views of those who listened to him in
1880, and that the people of Canada to-day recognize the
wisdom of the policy then inaugurated, and would not do
without the Canadian Pacific Railway, and go back to the old
condition of affairs under any circumstances whatever.

It was, of course, impossible that in a debate of so much
importance, Sir John Macdonald should not take a leading
part. The great scheme had originated in his brain, and it
is a well understood fact that when he first promulgated
the idea, he was considered so far in advance of the times
that he had, not only to contend with his political foes, but
even to persuade his most intimate friends, of the feasibility of
the project. When, therefore, it was about to take a shape
that would ensure its successful completion and the proposed
contract was being fiercely attacked by the members of the
Opposition, he joined with his Ministers in a vigorous defence.
Parliament having re-assembled after the Christmas holidays,
the debate was renewed with great earnestness. On January
1 7, 1881, Sir John made a most eloquent speech. We will not
give it in full, but only such portions as will convey a fair idea
of the arguments he advanced.

He said: “ I intended on Friday night to have made
some remarks on the amendment that was then in your
hands, but unfortunately for myself, and perhaps fortu-

VOL II.

21

322

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

nately for the House, I was too much indisposed to be
able to do so, and I was obliged to leave the Chamber.
That motion, however, disposed of, considerable discussion
was carried on, but it was still supposed to be en regie , and
with your permission, and the permission of the House, I
shall offer a few remarks, and they will not be long, on
the subject so brought up and involved in that resolution
and the amendment, and on the discussion which arose upon
it. Sir, in the first place I would like to speak of the posi-
tion of the Government with respect to the whole question.
It is true it has been treated ad nauseam in this House and in
the country, but, holding the position that I do, I think it not
improper or a waste of time if I recall the attention of the
House to some of the facts connected with the present condi-
tion of this great enterprise, and in doing so I must offer my
most humble and respectful apology to my colleague who sits
next me, the Minister of Railways, because he has again and
again gone over the whole ground in a manner which I may
imitate, but which I cannot hope to emulate.

“ It is known that from the time that British Columbia
came into Confederation — and I need not read the journals of
the House to prove the fact — the declared preference of both
sides of the House of the then Parliament was in favour of the
construction of the Pacific railway by an incorporated com-
pany. If we commence from that starting point, and if we
look through the whole line of the discussion and the whole
line of the policy of the two Governments which have had to
deal with that question, we shall find that thread running
through the whole subject, connecting it in such a manner that
it could not, without complete severance of the thread, be
altered. It was felt in the country, in the House, and by
every thinking man, that if we should be fortunate enough, if
Canada should have sufficient credit in the market where capi-
talists most do congregate, to induce capitalists to come
forward and undertake this great work, we would have
obtained for the Dominion a great advantage. Our legislation
was based upon that idea in 1872. The legislation of the
Government that succeeded us was based upon the same

Construction by Company Popular.

325

principle, that it was advisable to avoid all the trouble,
responsibility and uncertainty, and all the danger to be appre-
hended of making a great work like this a political engine. It
was thought by all parties that it was of the greatest conse-
quence that all those obstructions to the successful prosecution
of the work, to the carrying out of this great object, and
connecting this country from sea to sea, and making it one in
fact as well as in law, should be removed ; that it was of the
greatest consequence that the work should be expedited, that
it should not be carried on as a political work, that it
should not be made a matter over which rival parties could or
would fight ; that it should be undertaken on commercial
principles, and be built by a body of capitalists like any other
railway, with the hope and expectation that the capitalists
would get a full, fair return for all their risk, for all their
expenditure, and for all their responsibility.

“ The whole country was in favour cf that proposition, if it
was possible to have it carried out. We tried, and we failed,
although we made an effort — a strong and almost a successful
effort — in 1872 to thus build the railway. I will not drag into
this discussion, as far as I am concerned, and as far as my
remarks are connected with the subject, any references to the
political past. Allusions were made to it by those opposed to
the Government, especially by those who desired to asperse
myself, but, sir, there is the record ; there is the fruit of the
appeal to the country, and I am Prime Minister of Canada.
But whatever may have been the cause of the failure of Sir
Hugh Allen and the first company that was organized for the
purpose of building this road, I can see without reference to
any political reason why that company was defeated. I can
only say it was not from any want of the strongest opposition
offered to the Government of which I was the head, but it was
in consequence of the two things occurring together : the per-
sonal object in attacking the Government and the desire to
overthrow the scheme.

“ It has been urged in this House, and I say it has been
proved, that the present scheme laid before the House for its
approval is a more favourable scheme than that proposed in

326 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

1872. Whatever may be the merits of other offers or tenders,
whatever may be the merits of the last offer that has just been
laid on the table, I believe there is no man of candour and
common sense, who understands figures but will see that the
proposition which the Government on its responsibility
entered into with the Syndicate in 1880, was more favourable
to the country than the arrangement made with Sir Hugh
Allan in 1872. And I would ask this House and this country if
Canada would not have been a great gainer, if we had accepted
and carried out that proposition of Sir Hugh Allan in 1872.
Nine precious years have been lost since that time which can
never be recovered, during the whole of which the road would
have been in successful process of construction. The men
engaged in that scheme, if they could have got the ear of the
European capitalists, were strong enough to push that road
across the country, and at the end of those nine years, instead
of there being scarcely the footprint of a white man outside
the Province of Manitoba, we would have had hundreds
of thousands of people, who have gone from mere despair to
the United States, crowding into our own North-West Terri-
tories ; that country, instead of having but a small settlement
in the eastern end of it, would have been the happy home of
hundreds of thousands — to use the smallest figure — of civil-
ized men, of earnest, active labouring men, working for them-
selves and their families, and making that country, much
sooner than it will be now, a populous and a prosperous
country.

“ But there is little use in regrets like these. We on this
side of the House are not responsible for this delay, and we
appeal confidently to the country and confidently to posterity;
we appeal confidently to every candid man to say if this
Dominion of ours, of which we are so proud, about the future
of which we are so anxious, and yet so certain, would not have
been infinitely greater in our time, in the time of the oldest of us,
if the future of that country would not have been opened out
as a great branch of the Dominion, if the contract of 1872 had
been carried out. Still, sir, it was not to be. Our efforts
failed, and we fell in those efforts. We were succeeded by a

Construction by Company Popular.

327

Government strong in numbers, strong in ability, and at the
head of it a practical man. The fact of his being a practical
man was a matter of boast, and of just boast, among those
who gather around him. He had directed his best energies to
the object ; he had at his back a body so strong that no oppo-
sition could effectively thwart him, oppose him or even
obstruct him, and that honourable gentleman states himself
that he was not obstructed, that he was not opposed, that he
was not in any way impeded by the Opposition of the day,
and he, sir, took up the same line of policy in essence that we
initiated in 1872. And he, sir, served honestly and faithfully,
I believe, to relieve his Government and relieve himself and
his party from the responsibilities of his position, and of the
pledges which were made, and which he and those who served
under him were under obligations which could not, without
dishonour, be broken, which could not be delayed, which
could not, without disgrace and discredit be postponed.

“ It was admitted that there was a sacred obligation ; it
was admitted that there was a treaty made with British
Columbia, with the people and the Government of British
Columbia, and not only was it an agreement, a solemn bargain
made between Canada and British Columbia, but it was form-
ally sanctioned by Her Majesty’s Government It was a
matter of Colonial policy and Imperial policy that that road
should be constructed, and the late Government leader, my
honourable friend from Lambton, who is absent from his place
to-day, and who, I fear, is absent from the same cause which
compelled my absence on Friday night, and I regret his
absence very sincerely, — I say my honourable friend felt him-
self bound to that policy. Both the Government, of which I
was the head, and the Government, of which he was the head,
were bound by the original resolutions that were passed at the
time that British Columbia came in, were bound to the policy
that this road should be built with the aid of money and land,
and built by an incorporated company if possible, and some
went so far as to say, built in no other way. He was hampered
by that obligation, but it hampered both Governments. The
delegates from British Columbia came in when the motion was

328 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

carried ; they assented to it at the time; it became in fact the
law of the land, and when they went home there was not a
word of reproach from the delegates of British Columbia. All
they wanted was that the spirit of the resolution should
be carried out so far as men could carry on honestly and
fairly, and straight-forwardly, a solemn compact, an obligatory
pledge, a treaty not to be broken without dishonour.

“ Both Governments felt themselves bound to make every
exertion to build the railway by means of the intervention of
a body of captialists incorporated for that purpose. As we
had tried, so did the succeeding Government, and they
advertised in a manner which has been stated and explained,
and I need not go through the details again. Advertisements
were issued by the honourable member for Lambton, then
head of the Government, telling capitalists all over the world
to come forward and tender for the work, but tenders would
not come in. Whether it was that Canada had not the credit
it now has ; whether it was that the Government of the day
had not the credit that the present Government of Canada
has ; whether it was that the circumstances of the money
market were unpropitious at the time ; whether it was that
the country in* the North-West was not so well known then as
now, I cannot say. Perhaps all those causes were conjoined
to prevent success, but, at all events, the call upon the
capitalists of the world by the late Government did not
succeed.

“ The Government, I say, had every right to use all their
exertions in order to relieve themselves and the country of the
obligation of building this road and the still greater obligation
of running it. Let any one consider for a moment what these
obligations are, and how they press upon the Government.
We see this in the Intercolonial and in every public work.
Why, sir, it is actually impossible, although my honourable
friend has overcome many obstacles with regard to the Inter-
colonial Railway, for the Government to run that railroad
satisfactorily. It is made a political cause of complaint in
every way ; the men that are put on the railroad from the

The Mission to England.

329

porter upwards become civil servants. If one of these men
are put on from any cause whatever, he is said to be a political
hack ; if he is removed, it is said his removal was on account
of his political opinions ; if a cow is killed on the road, a
motion is made in respect to it by the member of the House
who has the owners vote and support. The responsibility, the
expense, the worry and the annoyance of a Government
having charge of such a work are such that, for these causes
alone, it was considered advisable to get out of the responsi-
bility. We have had enough evidence of that in this House,

“ Well, sir, we went to England, and, though in England,
we occasionally saw what was going on. The Opposition
— oh, how frightened they were lest we should succeed, and
cablegram after cablegram came to Canada, informing the
country, with an expression of regret, that we had miserably
and wretchedly failed ; then they said it was an evidence of
want of confidence of the people of England in the present
Administration. How could any body of capitalists put any
confidence or trust in a Government stamped with the Pacific
Railway scandal ? It was said that if it had been another
Government, having greater confidence and greater purity of
character, and greater ability, the result would be different.
There were tears (crocodile tears, perhaps) dropped upon the
unhappy fate of Canada in having such an incompetent and
criminal Government that could, within nine years from the
original transaction, carry out a beneficial arrangement by
which it was proposed to endeavour to get English capitalists
to take their place and build that road.

“ However, sir, we did, and in the speech at Hochelaga
that I hear so much about, a speech that can hardly be digni-
fied by the name of speech, I announced the fact that we had
made the contract. I say so now — we made the contract firm.

“ The pledges made to British Columbia and the pledges
made in reference to the future of this Dominion will be
carried out under the auspices of a Conservative Government
and with the support of a Conservative majority. (Applause).
That road will be constructed, and notwithstanding all the
wiles of the Opposition and the flimsy arrangement which has

330

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

been concocted, the road is going to be built, and will be
proceeded with vigorously, continuously, systematically, and
successfully to completion. And the fate of Canada will then,
as a Dominion, be sealed. Then will the fate of Canada, as
one great body, be fixed beyond the possibility of honourable
gentlemen to unsettle. The emigrant from Europe will find
here a happy and comfortable home in the great west, secured
by the exertion of the Conservative party. (Applause).
But then, sir, comes the interjection after the arrangements
have been made, and the Government had made a contract,
that honourable gentlemen opposite three or four years ago
would have leaped at and bragged and boasted of as a won-
derful proof of their superior administrative ability ; we now
have the assertion that the contract was made without due
authority.

“We have had tragedy, comedy and farce from the other
side. (Laughter and applause). Sir, it commenced with
tragedy (hear, hear) ; the contract was declared oppressive ;
the amount of money to be given was enormous ; we were
giving away the whole lands of the North-West ; not an acre
was to be left for the free and independent foot of the free and
independent settler ; there was to be a monopoly handed over
to this company ; we had painted the tyranny of this company
that was to override the people by raising a high tariff, and
the tyranny of a great monopoly who was to keep in their
control a large area of lands, out of which they expect to
build this railway, for some hundreds of years, in order that,
through the exertions of others, the value of their acreage
might be increased. This was the tragedy (hear, hear), and
the honourable gentlemen opposite played it so well that
if they did not affect the whole audience, we could see tears of
pity trickling down the cheeks of gentlemen sitting on that
side of the House. (Laughter). Then, sir, we had the
comedy. The comedy was that when every one of the
speeches of these honourable gentlemen was read to them, it
was proved last year, or the year before, or in previous years,
they had thought one way, and that now they spoke in another
way. (Hear, hear). Then it was the most amusing and comic

The Course of the Opposition.

33

thing in the world. Every honourable gentleman got up and
said, ‘ I am not bound by that (hear, hear) ; it is true that I
said so two years ago, but circumstances are changed in two
years or one year, or in eight months in one case, but to what
I said eight months ago I am not bound now. (Cheers and
laughter). This was very comic (laughter) ; it amused us all ;
it amused the House, and the whole country chuckled on
a broad grin. (Laughter). These honourable gentlemen said
it was true we were fools eight months ago and two years
ago, but because we were fools in the past, you have no right,
being Ministers, to be fools too ; you have no right to advo-
cate the follies we advocated.

“ The honourable gentlemen opposite have not hidden
their lights under a bushel ; their words have not been spoken
in a corner. We know the governing policy of the Opposition,
enumerated on several occasions, and repeated in this House
during the present session by the leader of the Opposition
(Mr. Blake) ; we know he is opposed to the building of the
road through British Columbia ; that he has, from the time
the subject was brought before Parliament, protested against
it, using such language to that province as ‘ Erring sister,
depart in peace we know he has ridiculed the idea of forc-
ing a railroad through an inhospitable region of mountains,
that would get no traffic, but, built at enormous expense,
would be no real value. The honourable gentleman has
adhered to that policy. Last session he moved that the
further construction of the road through British Columbia, in
allusion to the contract given out by the present Government
under advertisements published by the late Government, and
for the purpose of carrying out its policy, be postponed, as
also all action with that object, and I expressed my regret at
the unavoidable absence of my honourable friend from Lamb-
ton on this occasion, but greatly as I regret that, I still more
greatly regretted his humiliation at the time last session when
the honourable gentleman’s motion was in our hands. If I
were his worst enemy, and wished to triumph over him, I
would not desire a greater humiliation or tragic fate, or a more
wretched ending of a statesman than that, at the whip of the

332

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

man who had deposed him, or the man who had removed
and supplanted him, he should be obliged to eat his own
words and vote in favour of postponing the construction of the
road through British Columbia, that he should have to belie —
I use not the word in an offensive sense — his own advertise-
ments and all action of the Government in asking for tenders
for his building of the road.

“ What did this advertisement mean and the calling for
tenders ? Was it a sham, a fraud ? Assuming, like those who
did not know, that the honourable gentleman went down to
the depths of degradation to use that argument himself, and
say that he did not mean anything by that advertisement, but
really wished to ascertain the probable cost of the work,
because it was stated in this House that that was the object
of issuing advertisements, so that contractors were called upon
to come from not only all parts of the Dominion, but San
Francisco, the United States and the world, to consider this
matter, and they had to go over the whole ground with their
surveyors and engineers, make their surveys and estimates at
the greatest trouble and expense, in order to ascertain the
character of this work, and that the Canadian Government
might be able to say to them afterward, ‘ Gentlemen, we are
very much obliged to you for the information you have given
us, gathered at your expense and not at that of the public.’
Not one of the gentlemen of the late Government could have
done that, I am sure, or have said that the advertisement was
not bona fide , was not for the purpose of giving out work,
otherwise it was a mockery, a delusion and a snare, an injury
to every man put to expense in connection with it and to all
the professional men and capitalists of the world.

“ The policy of the leader of the Opposition, as avowed
and expressed, his policy as a Minister would be to stop all
work in British Columbia ; not a mile would be built, not a
train would ever run through British Columbia if he could
help it ; not a particle of trade or commerce would pass over
a line through that province to the east if he had his will, and
that province would be compelled to appeal to the paramount
power, to the justice of the British Government and Parlia-

The Course of the Opposition.

333

merit, where justice is always rendered, to relieve her from
connection with a people so devoid of honour, so devoid of
character, so unworthy of a place among the nations, and Her
Majesty’s Government would see that justice was done to that
long suffering people. That was the policy of the leader of
the Opposition with regard to the west. Now, his policy with
regard to the east was hostile to the construction of the road
north of Lake Superior. He avows his predilection for the
Sault Ste. Marie line, to draw off trade into the United States,
to strengthen, to renew, to extend and develop our commerce
with the United States, to the utter destruction of the great
plain basis and policy of the Dominion, which is to connect
the great countries composing the Dominion from sea to
sea, by one vast iron chain, which cannot, and will never be
broken.

“ That was the policy of the honourable gentleman, and
it was supported and would be supported by the whole party.
It was supported by their organ also. I do not often read it,
for I do not think it very wholesome reading, but I am told it
goes in strongly for the Sault Ste. Marie road, yet we all
remember, for I have heard it read many a time, the manner
in which that organ in days of old denounced the building of
the Sault road as hazardous to the best interests of Canada,
and destructive to the future of the Dominion, as calculated to
unite us, willy-nilly, with the States by a commercial connec-
tion which must be followed by a political connection a little
later, and I am told that organ strongly supports the honour-
able leader of the Opposition, just as strongly as some years
ago it vigorously and in a loyal British sense opposed him.
The same men do not govern that paper now, and if the chief
man who conducted that paper was now living, I do not
believe he would so belie his whole life and all his interests as
to surrender a great connecting principle which, whatever
might be the subjects of contention across the floor, kept him
always united with the party of which I am an humble
member, always united in defending British interests, in
defending monarchical institutions, and in trying, as far as
possible, to keep us a people free and independent of all exter-

334

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

nal relations with any country in the world except our grand
old mother country, England.

“ Yes, I am proud to say that if our scheme is carried out,
the steamer landing at Halifax will discharge its freight and
emigrants upon a British railway, which will go through
Quebec and through Ontario to the far west on British
territory, under the British flag, under Canadian laws, and
without any chance of either the immigrant being deluded or
seduced away from his allegiance or his proposed residence in
Canada, or the traffic coming from England or from Asia
being subjected to the possible prohibition or offensive
restrictive taxation or customs regulations of a foreign
power.

“ I believe that the men who signed the contract are men
of honour and great wealth, who cannot afford to lose their
character, prestige and credit in the markets of the world by
breaking a contract, but we felt we had no right to take their
word for it, and therefore stipulated in the contract that the
company should commence from the beginning of the Cana-
dian Pacific line, possibly at Callendar station, and proceed
vigorously and in such a manner that the annual progress shall
secure completion at the end of ten years. You must remem-
ber that this is one contract and not a separate contract to
build the eastern or the central section ; it is a contract to
build both, and if the company fail in performing their con-
tract, in carrying out their obligations as to the Lake Superior
road, they have no right to claim a subsidy in land or money
because of having done so much work on the prairie. If they
fail on one section, although they may have built twice the
number of miles that they promised across the prairies, may
have finished them to our thorough satisfaction, when they
come to demand tlie land and the money, if they have not
worked vigorously and continuously on the Lake Superior sec-
tion, achieving a rate of annual progress, assuring us that it will
be finished within the proper time, then we shall say, ‘ No you
don’t ; you shall not have this money ; no, you have built the
prairie section, but you have left other parts of the roads which
must go on pari passu , and we will not give you a dollar or an

The Road to be a Canadian Road.

335

acre, because, though you have done the full amount on the
prairies, you have been a failure, to a great extent, elsewhere/

“We desire, the country desires that the road, when built,
should be a Canadian road, the main channel for Canadian
traffic, for the carriage of the treasure and traffic of the west
to the seaboard through Canada. So far as we can we shall
not allow it to be built for the benefit of the United States,
and our North-West drained by the United States lines.
Then, again starting from the foot of the Rocky Mountains,
perhaps one of the most fertile, if not the most fertile, section
lies directly at the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains.
The freight from British Columbia for the east we desire to
keep on our own railroad as long as we legitimately can.
We believe it will carry freight as cheaply and satisfy the
wants of the country as fairly as any American railway. But,
sir, we desire to have the trade kept on our own side, that not
one of the trains that passes over the Canadian Pacific Rail-
way will run into the United States if we can help it, but may
instead pass through our own country, that we may build up
Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Halifax and St. John by means of
a great Canadian line, carrying as much traffic as possible by
the course of trade through our own country.

“ I do not mean to say we can prevent cheaper channels
being opened. There is no way to prevent other railroads
running across the continent through our own country. Our
Dominion is as big as all Europe, and we might as well say
that the railways running from Paris to Moscow might supply
the wants of all Europe as that this railway might supply the
wants of the whole North-West. There will be room for as
many railways in that country by-and-bye as there are in
Europe, and if there should be any attempt — and the attempt
would be futile — on the part of the Canadian Pacific Railway
to impose excessive prices and rates, it would be folly, and would
soon be exposed by the construction of rival lines east and west,
which would open up our country in all directions, and prove
amply sufficient to prevent the possibility of a monopoly,
which has been made such a bugbear of by honourable gentle-
men opposite. I was going to say that a train starting from

336 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

the foot of the Rocky Mountains might obtain connections by
a line running through in a south-easterly direction with roads
in the United States. I was going to say that a train starting
from the foot of the Rocky Mountains might be bled by a
line from any southerly direction connected with the United
States, and so much traffic would be carried off to the United
States, and a few miles farther another line might connect
with another American line, and so on, sir, until long before
we got to Winnipeg or the Red River, the main portion of the
trade would be carried off from our line into American
channels. That magnificent river, the Rhine, starting with
pride from its source, runs through the finest portions of
Europe, and yet has a miserable, wretched end, being lost in
the sands as it approaches the sea ; and such would be the
fate of the Canada Pacific Railway if we allowed it to be bled
by subsidiary lines, feeding foreign railways, adding to foreign
wealth, and increasing foreign revenue by carrying off our
trade, until before we arrived at the terminal points in Ontario
and at Montreal, it would be so depleted that it would almost
die of inanition.

Mr. Blake — (Hear, hear).

Sir John Macdonald — “ No men in their senses would
undertake to build the 450 miles through that stern country to
the north of Lake Superior, and run it for ten long years,
unless they knew that there was some check placed upon these
lines. Not a pound of freight would go from our North-West;
it would almost all go to the United States. (Hear, hear).
Some of it would come to us, but the great portion of the
trade would go through the United States by the favoured
line of honourable gentlemen opposite, without any hope
of getting it back to Canada at the Sault Ste. Marie. (Hear,
hear). Sir, we know what a great amount, what an enormous
amount of capital American capitalists possess who are con-
nected with the railways of the United States. We have seen
evidences of the mad rivalry which has existed occasionally
between some great railway lines of that country. You have
seen them run railways at ruinous rates in the hopes of break-
ing each other down. Sir, with our road backed by a country

The Danger from Competing Roads.

337

of scarcely four millions, with our infant country and with our
infant capitalists, what chance would they have against the
whole of the United States capitalists? What chance would
they have ? The Americans would offer to carry freight for
nothing and pay shippers for sending freight that way. It
would not all come by the Sault Ste. Marie. It would come
to Duluth. It would come to Chicago. It would come
through a hundred different channels. It would percolate
through the United States to New York and Boston, and to
the other ports, and, sir, after our railway was proved to be
useless, they might perhaps come into the market and buy up
our line as they have bought up other lines. (Hear, hear).

“ Railway and telegraph lines are under no protection from
foreign capitalists coming in and buying them up, and getting
control of our markets, and cutting us off from the trade
which should come from the great west and by Canadian
railways to the River St. Lawrence. (Hear, hear). They
could afford for a series of years, with their enormous
wealth, with their enormous capital, exceeding the revenue
of many first-class Governments in Europe, to put their rates
for freight down to such a figure as would ruin our road,
as would ruin the contractors, as would ruin the company
and render it utterly impossible for them to continue in
competition. And, sir, what can be more wretched or more
miserable in any country than an insolvent railway. (Hear,
hear). What could be more wretched and miserable, and
destructive to the future of a country than the offering on the
market of the stock of an insolvent railway. (Hear, hear).
They cannot supply or renew the rails ; they cannot main-
tain the road-bed in repair ; they cannot keep the line
supplied with railway stock. Sir, the road would become
shrunken, shrunken, shrunken until it fell an easy prey to this
ring. (Hear, hear.) We cannot afford to run such a risk.
(Cheers). * We saw what a wheat ring did in Chicago. They
raised the price of the necessaries of life. The ring in Chicago
raised the price of the poor man’s loaf for a whole year in order
to make a profit at the expense of the labouring poor of
Europe and of all the rest of the world ; and a similar com-

VOL II.

22

338 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

bination, but infinitely richer, with infinitely more capital, and
infinitely more unscrupulous — and no men are so unscrupu-
lous, and so reckless as the railway speculators and proprietors
in the United States — would be formed in this case.
(Applause).

“It was essentially as a matter of precaution and a matter
of necessity, and a matter of self-defence, that we provided
that this road should not be depleted of this traffic in the
manner in which I have mentioned (cheers), and that the road
should be allowed fair play for twenty years from now, and
only ten years after construction (hear, hear, and cheers), and
that it should be protected from the chance of being robbed of
all the profits, robbed of all the gain, the legitimate gain
which the company expects to get from this enterprise and
the employment of their capital. (Cheers). This was done
only to protect them for the first ten years of their infant
traffic. (Applause). We know perfectly well it will take
many years before that country is filled up with a large
population, and that the first ten years will be most unprofit-
able. We know perfectly well that it will require all the
exertion, and all the skill, and all the management of the
company to make the eastern and western sections of this
road fully compensate them, and fully compensate them for
their responsibility and for their expenditure during these ten
years. In order to give them a chance we have provided that
the Dominion Parliament — mind you the Dominion Parlia-
ment, we cannot check any other Parliament ; we cannot
check Ontario ; we cannot check Manitoba — shall, for the first
ten years after the construction of the road, give their own
road, into which they are putting so much money and so much
land, a fair chance of existence.

“ I know we can appeal to our countrymen. I know we
can appeal to the patriotism of the people of Canada. We
can tell them that we want a line that will connect Halifax
with the Pacific ocean. We can tell them, even from the
mouths of our enemies, that out of our lands we can pay off
every single farthing, every cent taken out of the pockets of
the people twenty fold, and we will have a great Pacific

The Danger from Competing Roads.

339

railway. This is what we will have. . . Mr. Speaker, the

whole thing is an attempt to destroy the Pacific railway. . ”

The Government policy was supported by the House, the
Act passed its third reading on February 14th, and received
the Royal assent the following day.

Of the men who undertook the contract to build the Can-
adian Pacific Railway, those with whom we are most familiar
are Lord Mount-Stephen, Mr. R. B. Angus, Mr. Duncan
McIntyre and Sir Donald Smith.

Of these, Lord Mount-Stephen is a fellow-townsman of
Thomas Carlyle, being a native of Dufftown, Banffshire, Scot-
land. He early displayed the ability and enterprise which
have always characterized him as a man, and, dissatisfied with
the narrow sphere afforded him in his native place, he went to
London, where he entered the service of the great mercantile
house of J. F. Pawson & Co., St. Paul* Churchyard. He
came to Canada in the spring of 1850, at the instance of his
cousin, the late Mr. William Stephen, senior member of the
firm of W. Stephen & Co., St. Helen Street, Montreal, the
predecessors of the present firm of Robertson, Linton & Co.

On the death of the head of the firm, in 1862, he purchased
the latter’s interest from his heirs, and after obtaining control
of the business, entered extensively into the manufacture of
Canadian tweeds and other stuffs. In this venture he suc-
ceeded so well that he soon withdrew from the wholesale
business and devoted his attention exclusively to manufactur-
ing. He became one of the directors of the Bank of Mon-
treal, and when the late David Torrance died, he became
President of the bank.

His railway operations have made his name familiar to
Canadians. He formed one of a syndicate to purchase the
interest of the Dutch bond-holders in the St. Paul and Pacific
Railway, which was then projected to St. Vincent and partially
constructed. Foreseeing the surpassing importance of this
line, when connection should be established with the Canadian
North-West by means of the Pembina branch of the Canadian
Pacific, Mr. Stephen and his associates resolved to obtain
possession of it, and were fortunate in being able to do so by

340

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

purchasing at a heavy discount the bonds of the road. They
at once pushed on the work of construction, and were soon in
a position to enjoy an absolute monopoly of railway traffic,
not only in the North-West of Canada, but also into a large
area of Minnesota and Dakota. Their success enabled them
to go on constructing their projected lines in various directions
through the above-named States, so that they soon had a
regular net- work of roads collecting the traffic of the North-
West and pouring it into St. Paul. With an eye to the fitness
of things they named their line the St. Paul and Manitoba
Railway, for, until the completion of the C. P. R., it was the
only winter outlet for the traffic of the Canadian North-West.

Lord Mount-Stephen is one of the most popular and kind-
hearted men in the Dominion, and has given away immense
sums of money to charitable and other deserving objects. In

1885 he joined his cousin, Sir Donald A. Smith, in founding
in the Royal College of Music, London, the “ Montreal Schol-
arship,” tenable for three years, and open to the residents of
Montreal and its neighbourhood.

Two years later the same gentlemen contributed the mag-
nificent sum of $1,000,000 ($500,000 each), to build, at Mon-
treal, a new hospital to be called the Victoria Hospital. In

1886 Her Majesty, the Queen, created him a baronet, in recog-
nition of his great services in connection with the Canadian
Pacific Railway, and in 1891 he was raised to the peerage,
under the title of Lord Mount-Stephen. His adopted
daughter was married to the son of Sir Stafford Northcote
during the sittings of the Joint High Commission, which nego-
tiated the Treaty of Washington, and, of which young Mr.
Northcote was an attache.

Sir Donald A. Smith was born and educated in Moray-
shire, Scotland. At an early age he went into the employ-
ment of the Hudson’s Bay Company and remained there for
many years, rising through all the grades of the service, until
in 1888, he was elected governor of the corporation. He mar-
ried Isabella, daughter of the late Richard Hardisty, one of the
officers of the Company, and who had formerly been in the Brit-
ish Army. When the North-West Territories were purchased

Canadian Members of Syndicate.

34i

by the Canadian Government, they appointed the Honourable
William McDougall as the first Lieutenant-Governor, but, on
arriving at the boundary line, he was prevented by an armed
force from proceeding farther, and was obliged to return
to Ottawa. Sir Donald Smith was appointed a Special Com-
missioner to enquire into the causes of this obstruction, on
account of his intimate knowledge of the country and the
confidence reposed in him by the inhabitants as the result of
his many years of intimate connection with them. In 1870
he was appointed a member of the Executive Council of the
North-West Territories. He represented Winnipeg and St.
John in the Manitoba Assembly, from the first meeting of
that body in 1871 until January, 1874. When Manitoba was
admitted to the Union in 1871, Sir Donald Smith was returned
to the House of Commons as member for Selkirk. He was
re-elected in 1872, 1874 and 1878, but the latter election was
voided. In 1887 he was elected for Montreal West, and again
in 1891. He is President of the Bank of Montreal and a
Director of the Canadian Pacific Railway. For services in
connection with this great national undertaking he was created
a K.C.M.G. Sir Donald is one of the most liberal of our
public men, and by a wise beneficence has done a world of
good with his wealth. In his more munificent gifts he has
been associated with his cousin Lord Mount-Stephen.

Mr. Duncan McIntyre was born in the Highlands of Scot-
land, not far north of Aberdeen. He came to Canada in 1849,
and was a clerk for many years with Stewart & McIntyre, a
well-known mercantile firm of Montreal. While in their
employ he travelled a good deal in the Ottawa Valley, and
thus became deeply impressed with its great natural advan-
tages. He purchased a farm at Renfrew, on which some
members of his family resided, and during leisure intervals
Mr. McIntyre was wont, in company with business friends, to
indulge in hunting excursions in various parts of the Ottawa
district. In this way he acquired a minute knowledge of the
topography of the country traversed by the Canada Central
Railway, a work in which Mr. McIntyre learned to take a
deep interest, and in the future of which he believed. Mr.

342

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

McIntyre, retired from mercantile business, after a very
successful career of some eighteen years. The principals of
the house with which he was connected, Messrs. Stuart
& McIntyre, had retired some time previously, each with-
drawing a considerable sum as his share, and leaving Mr.
Duncan McIntyre to emulate their success. In the course of
his trips up the Ottawa Valley he made the acquaintance of
Mr. Foster, who was then President of the Canada Central, and
soon became one of the directors. When Mr. Foster
secured the contract for the construction of the Canada Cen-
tral Extension, Mr. McIntyre took an interest in it along with
him, and as the result of a succession of transactions and
changes he came to the head of the road, and by repute, its
virtual owner.

Mr. Robert B. Angus was born at Bathgate, near Edin-
burgh, Scotland, and was one of four exceedingly clever
brothers ; with them he received his education in the Edin-
burgh schools, and seems to have made excellent use of his
training. He left his native land when quite a lad, and was
for a time employed in one of the Manchester banks. He
came to this country in 1852 and entered the British Bank,
where he remained a comparatively short time, accepting the
post of a junior clerk in the Bank of Montreal. He continued
to rise in the estimation of his employers, and was afterwards
sent to Chicago to administer the affairs of the branch in that
city. Mr. King, shortly after his accession to the position of
General Manager, secured for Mr. Angus the post of Assist-
ant-Manager, and when Mr. King became President, Mr.
Angus was appointed General Manager in his place, a position
he held until he went into the St. Paul and Manitoba Railway
business. Mr. Angus, though a strict and keen man of business,
is possessed of fine social qualities and has made himself very
popular with all classes. As manager of a large monetary
institution it was his duty to look strictly after its funds, and
no man could do this better, but as a private citizen he was
always very liberal.

Mr. William Cornelius Van Horne, the President of
the Canadian Pacific Railway was born in Will County,

The President of the C. P. R.

343

Illinois, February 3, 1843, and is of Dutch descent, spring-
ing from the old Knickerbocker stock. He commenced his
railway career in 1856 as a telegraph operator in the office
of the Illinois Central Railroad at Chicago, and afterwards,
until 1864, -served in various capacities on the Michigan
Central railroad. From 1864 to 1872 he was connected with
the Chicago and Alton Railway, filling successively the
positions of train despatcher, superintendent of telegraphs,
and divisional superintendent. In 1872 he became General
Superintendent of the St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern
Railway, and, in 1874, General Manager of the Southern
Minnesota Railway, and in 1877 President of the Company.
In October, 1878, he returned to the Chicago and Alton Rail-
way as General Superintendent, but continued, until 1879, to
hold the office of President of the Southern Minnesota Rail-
way. In January, 1880, he became General Superintendent of
the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, resigning this
office at the end of 1881, to become General Manager of the
Canadian Pacific Railway, the construction of which, by the
company, had recently been commenced. In 1884 he became
Vice-President of the company, and in 1888, on the retirement
of Sir George Stephen (now Lord Mount-Stephen) he was
elected President, in which office he has since continued.

The phenomenal rate at which the road was constructed is
largely due to his skill, indomitable perseverance and pluck.
The Bill which gave effect to the contract received the royal
assent, February 15, 1881, and ten years were given for the
construction, but such was the energy wdth which the work
was pushed forward that the last spike was driven by Sir
Donald Smith at Eagle Pass on November 7, 1885, a record
in railroad building which has never been equalled or even
approached in any part of the world.

As an instance of the vigour shown in the construction of
this great undertaking we may mention that in the year 1883
the extraordinary number of 918 miles was built, the average
quantity of track laid in crossing the prairies being three and
a-half miles per day, and, on two days, the astounding
distance of over six miles per day was laid, the track being

344

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

made from one end only, and being fully tied and spiked, the
rails being laid continuously, and in no case drawn ahead by
teams. The next two years the construction was proceeded with,
with the same untiring energy, and the whole road was fully
ballasted and ready for passenger traffic early in 1886. On
June 28th of that year the first through train left Montreal for
Vancouver, and on July 9th Sir John Macdonald realized the
dream of his ambition by starting on a journey to the Pacific
coast on the completed Canadian Pacific Railway.

Since its opening the line has been operated with so much
ability, carefulness and attention to the wants of its patrons,
that it has completely won the confidence of the travelling
and commercial community.

But the energies of the company were not confined to the
mere fulfilment of its contract with the Government. Much
more was done in order that the railway might fully serve its
purpose as a commercial enterprise. Independent connections
with the Atlantic sea-board were secured by the purchase of
lines leading eastward to Montreal and Quebec ; branch lines
to the chief centres of trade in eastern Canada were provided
by purchase and construction, to collect and distribute the
traffic of the main line ; and other branch lines were built in
the North-West for the development of the great prairies.

The close of 1885 found the company, not yet five years
old, in possession of no less than 4,315 miles of railway
including the longest continuous line in the world, extending
from Quebec and Montreal all the way across the continent to
the Pacific Ocean, a distance of 3,050 miles ; and by the
midsummer of 1886 all this vast system was fully equipped
and fairly working throughout. Villages and towns, and even
cities followed close upon the heels of the line-builders ; the
forests were cleared away, the prairie’s soil was turned over,
mines were opened, and even before the last rail was in place
the completed sections were carrying a large and profitable
traffic. The touch of this young giant of the north was felt
upon the world’s commerce almost before its existence was
known ; and, not content with the trade of the golden shores
of the Pacific from California to Alaska, its arms at once

7

The President of the C. P. R.

347

reached out across that broad ocean and grasped the teas and
silks of China and Japan to exchange them for the fabrics of
Europe and North America.

The next three years were marked by an enormous
development of traffic and by the addition of 800 more miles
of railway to the company’s system. One line was extended
eastward from Montreal across the State of Maine to a connec-
tion with the railway system of the Maritime Provinces of
Canada, affording connections with the seaports of Halifax
and St. John ; another was completed from Sudbury, on the
company’s main line, to Sault Ste. Marie, at the outlet of Lake
Superior, where a long steel bridge carries the railway across
to a connection with the two important American lines leading
westward — one to St. Paul and Minneapolis and thence
continuing across Dakota, the other through the numberless
iron mines of the Marquette and Gogebic districts to Duluth,
at the western extremity of Lake Superior ; still another, the
latest built, continues the company’s lines westward from
Toronto to Detroit, connecting there with lines to Chicago, St.
Louis, and all of the great Mississippi Valley. And now, the
company’s lines spread out towards the west like the fingers
of a gigantic hand, and the question “ Will it pay ? ” -is
answered with earnings for the past year of sixteen and a-half
million dollars, and profits of six and a-quarter millions.

Canada’s iron girdle has given a magnetic impulse to her
fields, her mines, and her manufactories, and the modest
colony of yesterday is to-day an energetic nation with great
plans and hopes and aspirations.

CHAPTER XXXV.

Dissolution of Parliament, 1882 — Results of general election — Sir John Macdon-
ald’s trip to England, October, 1884 — The guest of the Prince of Wales at
Sandringham — Dinner in his honour at the Beaconsfield Club — Visit to
Windsor Castle — Created a G.C.B. — Invested by the Queen herself with
the riband and star of the Order — Dinner at the Empire Club — Monster
Conservative Convention, December 9th — Addresses to Sir John — Grand
banquet in the Horticultural Gardens — Demonstrations in Montreal — The
Marquis of Lansdowne as Governor-General — Farewell banquet at the
Russell House — His remarks on the Fisheries Question, Commercial Union
and Imperial Federation — Tributes from Sir John Macdonald and others —
Arrival of Lord Stanley — The death of John Henry Pope— Services of Sir
Charles Tupper.

P ARLIAMENT was dissolved on May 18, 1882, and writs
issued for a new election, returnable August 7th. The
result proved that the policy pursued by the Government met
the approval of the country, for they were again returned to
power with a large body of supporters. The losses on the
Opposition side were very heavy, some of their best men being
defeated. The most prominent of these were Sir Richard
Cartwright, Sir A. T. Smith, and Messrs. Huntingdon, Mills,
Anglin, D. A. Macdonald, A. G. Jones, R. Laflamme and D.
Laird.

On October 8, 1884, Sir John Macdonald sailed for Eng-
land. He had not been well for some time and desired to
avail himself of the skill of Sir Andrew Clarke, under whose
care he had been on previous occasions. During his visit he
received a great deal of attention and many honours. From
November 22nd to 24th he was the guest of the Prince of
Wales at Sandringham. On the latter date he was entertained
at dinner by the Beaconsfield Club, the chair being taken by
Sir Stafford Northcote. In the course of his speech the latter
made the following appreciative remarks : “If the progress of
Canada had been as great as it undoubtedly had been during
the last forty years, if Canada now held so high a position in
the estimation of the world, if the difficulties which from time
to time had arisen in the development and organization of the
great Canadian community had been so successfully overcome,
there was one man to whom, above all others, that great pro-
gress was owing, and that man was Sir John Macdonald.’’

348

Receives the Grand Cross of the Bath. 349

On the following day Sir John went to Windsor Castle
accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone, the Earl of Derby
and Sir John McNeil, and had the distinguished honour of
dining with the Queen and the Royal Family. Afterwards
Her Majesty conferred upon him the Grand Cross of the Bath
and herself invested him with the riband and star of the Order.
He remained at Windsor Castle that night as the guest of the
Queen, and on the following day returned to London, where
he was entertained at a dinner given in his honour at the Empire
Club. The chair was taken by the Marquis of Lome, and
amongst the distinguished men present were the Marquis of
Salisbury, the Duke of Sutherland, the Earl of Kimberley,
Secretary of State for India ; the Earl of Derby, Secretary
of State for the Colonies ; the Earl of Carnarvon, ex-Colonial
Secretary ; the Marquis of Normanby, Viscount Bury, Mr.
W. H. Smith, Sir Thomas Brassey, Sir Charles Tupper and
Sir John Rose.

In proposing the toast of the evening, the Marquis of
Lome spoke of Sir John Macdonald as “the most successful
statesman in one of the most successful of the younger nations
of the world ; as a Minister whose characteristics are breadth
of views and largeness of heart, and hoped that he might long
be able to take his part in the public life which, for forty
years, he had led, illustrated and adorned.” In reply, Sir
John Macdonald expressed his gratification at having his
health proposed by Lord Lome, an ex-Governor-General of
Canada, and one who had not only ruled wisely and well, but
had endeared himself to the whole population. He accepted
the compliment paid him not merely as a personal one, but as
a recognition of the importance of Canada as a part of the
Empire. The people of Canada, without regard to politics or
party, would be proud of the demonstration. He then referred
in eloquent terms to the marvellous change which had taken
place in the country since he had first entered public life
in 1844, an d gave a sketch of the history of Canada during
those forty years. He described the present position and
prospects of the Dominion, and concluded by expressing
a warm hope for a closer alliance of all the colonies with the

350

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

mother country. Lord Salisbury also gave expression to his
“admiration for the distinguished career and the personal
character of our honoured guest, and said that he could
express no warmer wish for Canada than that, in her long
future, she may have many statesmen who will shed as much
lustre on her history, and will confer as many benefits on her
people, as Sir John Macdonald has done.”

His visit to England, and the honours paid him, attracted
a great deal of attention, and the newspapers spoke of him
and his speeches in the highest terms, the London Standard
pointing out that “in advancing Sir John Macdonald to the
dignity of a G. C. B., Her Majesty had conferred upon him
what, according to Lord Beaconsfield, was practically the
highest meritorious distinction it was in the power of the
Sovereign to bestow.”

Sir John returned to Canada on December 9th, and found
that his friends and admirers had made extensive arrange-
ments to celebrate in a fitting manner the conclusion of
his fortieth year of public life. Ten thousand delegates from
the constituencies of Ontario were appointed to hold a Con-
vention at Toronto on the 17th and 18th. This Convention
was held at the Grand Opera House, and the crowd was
so great that hundreds were unable to obtain admission. An
address from those present was presented to Sir John, to
which he made a reply that was received with great enthus-
iasm. A Liberal-Conservative Association for the province
was then formed, of which he was unanimously elected Presi-
dent, and Mr. W. R. Meredith, Vice-President. In the evening
a magnificent banquet was given in the Pavilion of the Horti-
cultural Gardens, at which 1,200 persons sat down. The
speeches were numerous and interesting, and were listened
to with great attention by a crowd of spectators, largely com-
posed of ladies, who filled the galleries.

A similar demonstration took place in Montreal in the
beginning of the new year — January 12 and 13, 1885. The
streets through which Sir John passed from the railway
station were brilliantly illuminated. Thousands of people
with bands of music joined in the procession, and the respect

The Marquis of Lansdowne.

35i

and attachment felt towards him was testified by the vocifer-
ous cheering which greeted him along the whole route. On
arrival at the drill hall, many addresses were presented to him,
and speeches made by the leading men present. The next
night a banquet was given him in the large dining-room
of the Windsor Hotel, which was crowded to its utmost
capacity. The speeches lasted until a late hour, the principal
theme being the great services which the guest of the evening
had rendered to his country, coupled with a hope that he
might long be spared to guide the destinies of Canada.

Meanwhile the Marquis of Lome had been succeeded
as Governor-General by the Marquis of Lansdowne, who also
bears the titles of Earl of Wycombe, Viscount Cain and
Cainstine, Lord Wycombe, Baron of Chipping-Wycombe,
Earl of Kerry and Earl of Shelburne, Viscount Clanmaurice
and Fitzmaurice, Baron of Kerry, Lixnaw, and Dunkerron*,
He was born January 14, 1845, and succeeded to the title
in 1866. He received his education at Eton and Balliol
College, Oxford. In 1869 he married Lady Maud Evelyn
Hamilton, youngest daughter of the first Duke of Abercorn.
He was a Commissioner of the Exchequer of Great Britain,
and of the Treasury of Ireland 1868-72; Under-Secretary of
State for War 1872-74; and Under-Secretary for India 1880.
He arrived in Canada on October 23, 1883, after a very stormy
passage across the ocean. Addresses were presented to him
to which he replied in a manner that charmed his hearers.
The French were especially delighted by his replying to them
in their own language, and remarked upon the purity of
his accent. On the following day he proceeded to Ottawa.
As, for many reasons, we are compelled to abstain from
referring to the very pleasant subject of the acts and doings
of our Governors since Confederation, we will now only
add that after a sojourn in Canada of less than five years,
Lord Lansdowne was called to the higher office of Vice-
roy of India. The news of his approaching departure was
received with feelings of the deepest regret, and it was resolved
to signify the appreciation felt of his efforts to promote the
good of the country, and to testify to the warm feelings enter-

352

The Life of Sir John A. MacdonXld.

tained towards him and Lady Lansdowne, by a public enter-
tainment This took place at the Russell House on May 15,
1888, and we give the proceedings as reported in the Citizen of
the following morning. His speech on the occasion was
eloquent, practical and sympathetic, and his remarks respect-
ing the Pacific railway, the Fisheries’ question, the duties and
responsibilities of a Governor-General, Commercial Union with
the United States, and Imperial Federation, are worthy of the
most attentive perusal :

“ When it was definitely announced that Lord Stanley of
Preston had been appointed to succeed Lord Lansdowne as
Governor-General of Canada, in consequence of the latter
having been chosen to succeed Lord Dufferin in the Governor-
Generalship of India, a general desire was expressed that His
Excellency should not be allowed to depart from Ottawa
without an opportunity being afforded of demonstrating to
him the high esteem in which he and the Marchioness of
Lansdowne are held by the citizens of the Capital of the
Dominion. A meeting was called by His Worship the
Mayor for the purpose of considering the best means of
putting the public wish into practical shape, and it was finally
decided that a banquet should be tendered His Excellency,
which would afford him an opportunity of making a speech in
review of his administration of public affairs in the Dominion
during the last four and a-half years, and that, on the occasion
of his departure from the city, the popular sentiment should
find expression in a demonstrative display. His Excellency
was pleased to intimate to the Mayor that a banquet would be
to him the most acceptable tribute of respect, as he was
desirous that his last public utterances in Canada should be
spoken in the city where he had spent the greater portion of
the time he has represented Her Majesty in the Dominion.

“ The banquet took place at the Russell House and
proved in every respect an unqualified success. It is safe
to say that it was the most brilliant and the most representa-
tive social entertainment ever witnessed in Ottawa. The
chair was occupied by His Worship, the Mayor, and on his
right were His Excellency ; Sir Hector Langevin, Minister of

Banquet to the Marquis of Lansdowne. 353

Public Works ; Honourable Mackenzie Bowell, Minister of
Customs ; Honourable W. A. McLelan, Postmaster-General ;
Honourable John Costigan, Minister of Inland Revenue ;
Honourable J. A. Chapleau, Secretary of State ; Honourable
George E. Foster, Minister of Marine and Fisheries ; Honour-
able G. W. Allan, Speaker of the Senate ; Lieutenant-General
Sir Fred Middleton, Sir Richard Cartwright, Honourable Mr.
Justice Fournier, Honourable Wilfred Laurier, Honourable
Alexander McFarlane, Honourable J. G. Ross, Honourable F.
Clemow. On the left Right Honourable Sir John Macdonald,
Premier and President of the Conncil ; Honourable Sir Charles
Tupper, Minister of Finance ; Honourable Sir Adolphe
Caron, Minister of Militia ; Honourable Frank Smith ;
Honourable J. S. D. Thompson, Minister of Justice ; Honour-
able J. J. C. Abbott ; Honourable Sir William Ritchie, Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada ; Honourable William
Macdougall, Honourable R. W. Scott, Honourable R. B.
Dickey, Honourable Donald Mclnnes, Honourable Dr. Cas-
grain, the Honourable Speaker Ouimet, Sir James Grant, and
the Honourable George A. Kirkpatrick. The vice chairs were
occupied by Sheriff Sweetland and Mr. Charles Magee.
Altogether about 240 gentlemen were present.

In proposing the toast of the evening the Mayor, Mr.
McLeod Stewart said : “ Gentlemen, — It is permitted to

me to-night to discharge a most agreeable duty, one of
the most agreeable of a lifetime, and that is to propose
the health of our distinguished guest the Governor-General
of Canada. (Cheers). Lord Lansdowne came to us four
and a half years ago, with all the prestige of a noble
lineage, and preceded by the reputation which always per-
tains to the cultured scholar and the distinguished states-
man. He has proved himself a most able and constitutional
representative of Her Majesty in this country. He has made
for himself a most honourable record, and he now leaves us
rich in the affections and dear to the hearts of the great mass
of the Canadian people.” (Cheers). Addressing the Governor-
General, the Mayor said : “ When Your Excellency reaches the
shores of England, and you relinquish the great trust which

VOL II. 21

354

The Life gf Sir John A. Macdonald.

has been confided to you, tell Her Majesty the Queen that the
little Ottawa which she graciously designated as the seat of
government has grown into a large and flourishing city.
(Cheers). Tell her also that the little provinces which she
joined together in one great confederation have grown into a
mighty and prosperous Dominion, and tell Her Majesty
further, that in no portion of her wide Dominions has she
subjects more true, more loyal, and more patriotic to her
throne than her own Canadian people. (Loud and repeated
cheers). Of your estimable wife, Her Excellency Lady Lans-
downe, I have nothing but the kindest words to say. By her
rare sweetness of disposition, her charm of manner, and her
kindness of heart, she has endeared herself to all with whom
she has come in contact. (Tremendous cheering). The great
regret we experience at Your Excellency’s departure is also
felt in a like degree for Her Excellency Lady Lansdowne.
(Cheers). I am sure I voice the sentiments not only of the
citizens of Ottawa, but also of the whole Dominion, when I
say that it is the earnest desire and prayer of all of us that
Divine Providence may grant to Your Excellency wisdom to
your head, courage to your heart, and strength to your arm in
administering the affairs of that great Orient Empire over
which Her Majesty has called you to preside.” (Loud and
repeated cheers).

When His Excellency rose to respond, he was greeted with
an outburst of wild enthusiasm. Cheer after cheer greeted
him ; handkerchiefs waved, and several minutes elapsed before
the Governor-General could speak, so unbounded was the
popular demonstration.

His Excellency said : “ Mr. Mayor, Sir John Macdonald
. and Gentlemen, — You could have paid me no compliment
greater or more acceptable than that of asking me to meet this
brilliant company at dinner this evening. It is representative
of all that is most distinguished and honourable in the society
of the capital. I see around me the venerable Premier, who
has for so many years been responsible for the conduct of
your public affairs. (Cheers). I see his colleagues with whom
'I ha,ve been in constant official intercourse. I see distin-

Marquis of Lansdowne’s Farewell Speech. 355

guished members, of the Privy Council, not of the Cabinet, but
whose intimate acquaintance I have nevertheless had the
honour of enjoying. (Renewed applause). I see representa-
tives of both branches of the Legislature and of all the most
important interests of your city, a city which we regard not
only with the respect due to the capital of a great Dominion,
but with the affection which nearly five years of constant inter-
course has built up in our hearts. It is delightful to us at the
close of our sojourn in this country to know that we have
become bound to you by something more than official ties,
and, sir, when you, speaking in the name of such a body of
men as that which I see before me, and with their approval and
concurrence, have thought fit to address me as you have
addressed me to-night, I may indeed feel that if I have
achieved nothing else, I can at least lay claim to that which
has in my eyes an estimable value, I mean the sympathy and
good will of those amongst whom the greater portion of my
life in this country has been passed. And, sir, I never felt
more in need of that, sympathy than I do now. It is at the
critical periods of one’s life that the sympathy of friends is essen-
tial, and it is through such a period that we are now passing.
I can assure you that, in spite of the brightness and exhilara-
tion of the moment, in spite of all that hope, or if you like,
ambition, can suggest, the feelings which are uppermost in our
minds are those solemn and serious feelings which naturally
arise when one is called upon to sever rudely the associations
of years, and break with a past which has been peaceful,
honourable and happy.

“Of the kind terms in which you have described the way
in which I have discharged the duties belonging to my office
I scarcely know how to speak. I fear your estimate is coloured
by your personal friendship and by that indulgence which is
always bestowed upon those who are departing, or who are
about to depart from bodily or political life. (Cries of no!
no !) A famous Frenchman who was listening to a somewhat
superlative encomium passed upon a person who had joined
the great majority, is said to have observed that he was ready
to give him credit for all the good qualities which were being:

356 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

ascribed to him, ‘ Pourvu qu'il soit mort ! (Applause and

laughter). But, sir, I am no cynic at the best of times, and I
am sure that what you have said has been said from the heart,
and from my heart I thank you for your warm and friendly
approval of my conduct during my residence amongst you.
No one knows better than I do how much has been left
undone, or might have been done better, during that time.
If you are willing to give us credit for having done our best
we shall be content. When I say ‘we’ I hope you will under-
stand that I am not using the mediaeval plural which is usually
affected by royalty, but because in speaking of my relations
with the people of Canada, and of my gratitude to you, I
cannot separate Lady Lansdowne — (great applause) — from
myself, and I feel quite sure that, although she is not present
with us this evening, she appreciates as thoroughly as I do the
significance and value of this mark of your good will. Let me
add, too, that no one is better aware than I am of the extent
of the assistance which I have received from her and from my
small but willing and indefatigable staff. (Loud applause).

And, sir, if my personal and private experience of Canada
has been entirely fortunate, I think I may add that I have no
reason for complaining of my experience of the public affairs
of the country. The years which I have spent in your country
have been upon the whole years of peaceful progress — years
during which the reputation of your country has advanced,
during which it has progressed in arts and manufactures, in
education, and in all the conditions essential to the well-being
of a great and prosperous community. If you have shared the
vicissitudes of fortune which have afflicted other countries you
have in my judgment suffered less from them than other
nations. If there has been here and there a slight creaking in
the machinery of your Constitution, we may, I think, neverthe-
less venture to say that the structure of Federation has on the
whole stood the test pretty well, and that it will, with a little
watchfulness, continue to do so. (Applause).

“ Upon the other hand, I am far from saying that my term
of office has been an uneventful one. I could mention several
events, any one of which would in itself be sufficient to mark

Marquis of Lansdowne’s Farewell Speech. 357

an epoch in your history. We had, in 1885, that most
untoward rebellion in the North-West Territories, to which I
will only refer for the purpose of making this observation, that
while I believe that any feelings of local irritation, or more
wide-spread race antagonism which it may have provoked at
the time, will disappear completely, if they have not already
done so, there will survive in the recollection of your people,
long after the present generation has passed away, the
memory of the manner in which your military forces, drawn
from all portions of the Dominion, responded to the call which
was then made upon them, and of the cheerfulness and
gallantry with which they acquitted themselves during a
trying and arduous campaign. (Renewed applause).

“ While it is impossible to refer to these events without
feelings in which pride is mingled with regret, we can recur
with unmixed satisfaction to the great national achievement,
the great peaceful victory which marked the following year.
I mean the completion of the national highway, by which you
have united the two oceans which wash the coast of British
North America. That achievement is one which stands alone
among the great national enterprises which the world has
known, both in respect of the physical difficulties which it was
necessary to overcome, and in respect of the rapidity and
success with which the work was completed. The work is not
only one which has fundamentally affected the relations of the
different parts of the Dominion to each other, but it has
affected those of the Dominion, as a whole, to the mother
country and to the Empire, and I am glad to find that it
is universally regarded as a most important contribution made
by Canada to the strength of the Empire as a whole. (Loud
applause). We cannot at present foresee the full extent of
the consequences, political and economical, which are likely to
accrue to us from its completion. The full results of such an
improvement in the arterial communications of the Empire do
not make themselves felt all at once. A great arterial road is
not complete merely because an engine can run across it from
end to end. Although the line has been now open for traffic
for upwards of two years, we have yet to see its effects upon

358 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

the general prosperity of the country when its equipment shall
have been completed, its connections made good and devel-
oped, and its ocean communications with other parts of the
Empire placed, as I hope they soon will be, upon a thoroughly
satisfactory footing. (Applause).

“ I pass from these to a more recent event, and one upon
which I confess I am disposed to dwell with equal pleasure.
I mean the attempt which has been lately made to remove
the only formidable source of disagreement which has, for
many years past, existed between ourselves and the great
republic which adjoins us. I have never been one of those
who believed that our dispute with the Government of the
United States in regard to our fisheries, was one which was
likely to lead to a breach of the peace, or to prove in the end,
incapable of solution. But, sir, the mere existence of such a
dispute, embittering, as it did, our relations with our neigh-
bours, endangering the harmony which ought to unite the
whole British race on this continent, and affording a pretext
to those who desired to stir up strife between the two powers
was a calamity and a scandal to ourselves and to the whole
world. (Applause). It is quite true that the final adjustment
of these difficulties has not yet taken place. Whether they will
be adjusted or not, and if so, what time, does not now depend
upon us, but I will take upon myself, to say this, that even if
the adjustment be indefinitely postponed, the whole com-
plexion of the question has been radically altered by the
negotiations which took place at Washington during the past
winter, and by the treaty, ratified or unratified, in which they
resulted. Six months ago the positions taken by the Govern-
ment of the United States on the one hand, and by the
Imperial Government and that of the Dominion on the other,
appeared to be irreconcilable. As things stand at present,
there is, as far as I am aware, no material difference of opinion
between the three. Whatever be the action of those with
whom the fate of the treaty at present rests, no miscarriage
which we can now apprehend can possibly put matters back
where they where before the meeting of the plenipotentiaries.
(Applause).

Marquis of Lansdowne’s Farewell Speech. 359

“ I rejoice to think that in the seventy years which have
passed since the Treaty of 1818 was framed our relations with
our kinsmen on the other side of the border have undergone
a gradual and steady amendment There is a legend that
early in the present century a Colonial Secretary advised the
people of Canada to plant a belt of forest trees all along the
frontier of the United States in order to keep Canada separate
from that unruly people, and ‘ pure from republican contamin-
ation/ (Laughter). That is not, I am happy to say, the
policy of the present day. Of all the blessings enjoyed by the
dwellers on this continent none is greater than their freedom
from the dangerous rivalries and complications such as those
which are, at this moment, paralysing industry and retarding
prosperity on the continent of Europe. I trust it may be
reserved to my successor to see the last shreds of this dispute
which we have done our utmost to remove, swept away
forever, leaving to us nothing but the frank, generous, and
cordial understanding which should unite the English-speak-
ing race upon this continent. (Great applause).

“ And now, gentlemen, if I have ventured to mention
these matters, I have done so not because I sought to leave on
your minds, or on the minds of anyone, the impression that I
desired to take any credit to myself in connection with the
satisfactory results which have, I believe, in each case been
arrived at. It is said that a great English personage, by dint
of talking about the battle of Waterloo, succeeded in persuad-
ing himself that he had taken part in that engagement.
(Laughter). If I live long enough I shall, perhaps, persuade
myself that I was in command at Batoche, that I discovered
Roger’s Pass, and that I took part as a plenipotentiary in the
negotiation of the Washington Treaty. (Great laughter). At
present, in order to avoid misconceptions, let me state that I
am under the impression that my friend Sir Frederick Middle-
ton had the conduct of the North-West campaign (loud
applause), that I was not even so fortunate as to drive the last
spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and that although I
certainly sat by Sir Charles Tupper, in spirit, during the
Washington negotiations, I am glad to have this opportunity

360 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

of bearing witness to the fact that whatever credit is due for
their results belongs to him and to the distinguished British
statesman, who, when the history of these negotiations comes
to be more fully known, will be found to have watched your
interests with an amount of tact and assiduity and determin-
ation, which I will venture to say could not have been
exceeded if he had been born within the sound of the Chaud-
iere Falls. (Great applause).

“ But, sir, while I wish to disclaim any attempt at obtain-
ing for myself any portion of the credit which belongs to
others, in respect of these events, and while I have never shut
my eyes to the fact that the representative of the Crown, in a
self-governing colony, occupies a position differing very widely
from that of the Governor of a Crown colony, I am, on the
other hand, very glad to find that you are not among those
who have regarded his duties as being of a purely formal
character, and consisting merely in the dispensation of a
certain amount of hospitality, and in the delivery of occasional
speeches bearing a strong family resemblance to each other,
and containing, I am afraid, a good many commonplaces
which must sound wearisome in the ears of those who are
habituated to the more pungent utterances of political discus-
sion. (Laughter and applause). I shall not admit, and I hope
you will not do so either, that a constitutional Governor is one
who does nothing at all. (Hear, hear, and applause). So far
from holding that opinion, I should be myself inclined to say
that while a great colony like yours continues to form a part
of the Imperial system, and I do not see much sign of weari-
ness of that connection on your side or on ours (great
applause), you could not have a much more convenient or
useful connection with the mother country than the office of
Governor-General as it is now constituted. The person who
fills it has altogether exceptional opportunities of serving the
interests both of the mother country and of the colony. He
can have one eye behind the scenes in Downing street, and
another in the Dominion. (Hear, hear). His opportunities
for effecting a good understanding between the two are very
great. My own experience is that, if differences arise, they

Marquis of Lansdowne’s Farewell Speech. 361

arise in nine cases out of ten, from ignorance or misunder-
standing of the real position of affairs on one side or the other.
You should have in your Governor-General one who is able to
speak with equal frankness and with equal knowledge of what
he is talking about to either side, and to make it aware of the
real requirements and situation of the other. (Loud applause).
Holding as I do these opinions, it is most satisfactory to me
to find that your verdict is not unfavourable to my conduct.

“ It has been my earnest wish during the last four years to
co-operate with the members of the Canadian Government in
the promotion of whatever measures were most likely to con-
duce to the general prosperity and well-being of the Dominion,
and to leave nothing undone in order to ensure a feeling of
mutual confidence and good will between your Government
and that of the Queen. I rejoice to think that such a feeling
exists at the present time, not only between the Governments
of the two countries but between their peoples. I do not
believe the general tone of public feeling ever was sounder or
more friendly. (Renewed applause). That feeling is, moreover,
something more than a mere spurious patriotism which takes
refuge in vague and general professions of good-will, but
evaporates in the face of the first breath of opposition. The
spirit which animates it is eminently thoughtful, independent
and critical. (Hear, hear). It takes very little for granted.
It is not ready to say that a particular state of things must be
satisfactory because it has always existed. It is, on the con-
trary, disposed to place existing institutions on their trial, and
to discuss with the utmost frankness questions which, in days
of less intellectual and political activity, would have been
gladly shirked and put on one side. Nothing, for instance,
has struck me more than the intelligence and ability with
which that great group of questions which are involved in the
relation of the Colonies and the Empire has been discussed in
this country during the last year or two. The public contro-
versies which have taken place upon the political and econ-
omical relations of the different parts of the Empire have been
of extraordinary interest and have this great advantage, that
whether we are on the eve of great changes or whether we

362 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

may look forward to a long continuance of our present system,
whether we find ourselves led in the direction of a closer
approximation between the different parts of the Empire or,
on the contrary, in the direction of a further emancipation
from the already slight ties by which the different parts of the
Empire are united, the community is being day by day
instructed in regard to these matters, and will, if it is called
upon to act, at all events, have no excuse for acting ignorantly
and without a full knowledge of the consequences involved.
(Applause).

“ It would be little short of an outrage if on an occasion
like the present, I were to attempt a discussion of questions
such as those to which I have referred. I will, however, so
far presume upon the indulgence to which a departing friend
is entitled, to make one general observation with regard to the
standpoint from which they should be approached, that obser-
vation is this, that in dealing with problems of this kind, the
ultimate factor with which we have to reckon is the public
sentiment of two great democratic communities. (Applause),
It was once said by President Lincoln, with great truth, that
with public sentiment nothing can fail, and that without it
nothing can succeed, and that he who moulds sentiment goes
deeper than he who enacts statutes. (Loud applause). The
influence of sentiment is one which grows every day, which
grows at the expense of hard logic and inexorable political
economy. (Hear, hear). Before the days of household suff-
rage, of cheap newspapers and sixpenny telegrams, public
questions were disposed of by statesman philosophically, judi-
cially, secretly in their studies or their council chambers.
They are now, in nineteen out of twenty cases, virtually dis-
posed of on the platform or in the press. (Hear, hear). I will
not now enquire whether the change is one for the better, but
it is one with which we have to count. When, therefore, we
propose grave and far-reaching changes of policy, involving
the future destinies of nations, we cannot bear this change too
strongly in mind.

“ Will you let me illustrate my meaning by referring to
the suggestions which are from time to time made for the

Marquis of Lansdowne’s Farewell Speech. 363

establishment of closer and exclusive commercial relations
between the Dominion and the great Republic which adjoins
us — proposals which are made upon the assumption that
in spite of the preference thus given to the latter our
allegiance to the mother country is to remain unimpaired, and
that her liability to make her cause our own is to stand exactly
where it does now. In such cases I confess that the question
which I ask myself is not whether such an arrangement would
be advantageous to Canada or not, nor what are the motives
of those by whom it is proposed. I am content to assume, if
you please, that the change considered by itself might be
financially a desirable one, and I am willing to give credit to
those by whom such proposals are advocated for being every
whit as loyal as I am myself. (Hear, hear). I own, however,
that I am not without the most serious misgivings when I ask
myself whether the public sentiment of the British democracy
would stand the strain which the adoption of such a policy by
the Dominion would place upon it, and whether it would not
be likely to consider the extent, not so much of the material
injury which it would be likely to sustain, but of the moral
affront to which it was called upon to submit. (Applause).

“ I am tempted again to apply a similar test when I am
asked what I think of proposals of a very different kind, and
leading us in an entirely opposite direction, such as those
which are recommended, with the object of establishing
between the different parts of the Empire relations, political
and commercial, much more intimate and uniform than those
which exist between them at the present time. The objects oi
those by whom such proposals are made, have my warmest
sympathy, but, sir, having I suppose a little Scotch blood in
my veins, and being therefore of a cautious temperament, I
pause and ask myself whether in endeavouring to improve the
condition of things, we might not find ourselves again out-
stripping the public sentiment of the communities concerned
and expose their allegiance to a strain greater than it can
bear. (Applause). Let me say frankly that, in my opinion,
public sentiment in the great possessions of the Crown would
be exposed to such a strain if the self-governing colonies were

364 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

ever to be required to part with any material portion of the
freedom which they now enjoy in the management of their
own affairs. I have the honour of a pretty close acquaintance
with a considerable number of your legislators here, and I will
venture to say that there is no feeling stronger in their minds,
and in that of their constituents, than the feeling that in
purely Canadian affairs the Constitution recognizes the abso-
lute supremacy of the Canadian Parliament. (Loud applause).
Now, I do not believe that public sentiment here would
tolerate any change depriving it of that authority, or trans-
ferring any portion of it to, let us say, an Imperial Chamber
sitting at Westminster. You might send your best men to it,
but before they had been there six months they would find
that the real power remained where it was before, namely,
within the Parliament Buildings at Ottawa. (Hear, hear and
applause). I would ask you for a moment to consider how
the policy of centralizing Imperial business at Westminster
would work if you were to push it too hard.

“ Take, for example, a great question which is now engag-
ing the attention of the public, and Her Majesty’s Govern-
ment at home, I mean the question of our Imperial defences.
There is, I think, room for a great deal of improvement in the
existing condition of things. There is no reason why the
Governments of the great colonies and the United Kingdom
should not agree before hand what measures are to be taken
by the military and naval forces at their disposal for the pro-
tection of different portions of our Imperial possessions.
(Hear, hear). The Australian colonies have lately commenced
a very useful movement in this direction by providing them-
selves with a small naval force of their own, which would
under a pre-arranged system co-operate with the Royal Navy
in Australian waters. The part to be taken by the British and
Colonial forces, respectively, in manning the different positions
might, with great advantage, be determined, and there are
many other steps of the same sort which will readily suggest
themselves to you. But if we are to go further than this and
to have a covenant binding, let us say, this country to place a
certain number of men at the absolute disposal of the Imperial

Marquis of Lansdowne’s Farewell Speech. 365

Government whenever it is called upon, I say frankly that I do
not believe that such an arrangement would work. (Applause).
If the safety of the Empire was menaced, and if the people of
this country felt that our cause was a just one, you would not
choose that moment, when the Empire was in peril, to repud-
iate your relationship, or to avoid your share in resisting the
attack. (Tremendous applause). In such circumstances, I
would sooner trust to the spontaneous action of Canada to
give me 50,000 men than trust to getting a couple of regiments
because you were under a hard and fast bargain compelling
you to supply them. (Renewed applause).

“ Or, again let us suppose an experiment of the same kind
to be tried in regard to the fiscal system of the Empire. I
have said the fiscal system of the Empire, but there is no such
thing. The fiscal arrangements of the possessions of the
British Crown are, at present, chaotic. You have colonies
which are free traders, and colonies which are proctectionist ;
you have colonies with ad valorem duties, and colonies with
specific duties ; you have British possessions like India, with
only seven articles in its tariff list, and you have possessions like
Canada, with a list of four hundred and fifty. Let us suppose
that you are going to try your hand at the introduction of a
uniform system. You will have two tremendous obstacles to
encounter. In the first place, if you are going to propose that
the parts of the British Empire shall join hands and adopt a
common tariff against other nations, you will have to convince
the people of Great Britain that you are not going to lead them
into a morass. The United Kingdom does, roughly speaking,
at present three-fourths of its trade with foreign countries, and
one-fourth with British possessions. Self-preservation is a
pretty strong instinct in commercial circles at home, as it is in
Canada, and you will find that not a few of our friends will
hesitate to disturb the three-fourths of their business which
they do with the foreigner on the chance of making the
remaining quarter a little larger than it is now. (Hear,
hear).

“ The case is still stronger if you go into details. It is a
matter of life and death to them. Take the great commodity

366 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

of wheat Why should not Great Britain admit wheat from
the North-West duty free, and tax that coming from foreign
countres ? Now, Great Britain only grows one-third of the
wheat required for her own consumption ; of the remaining
two-thirds she takes every year from foreign countries three-
fourths, and the remaining one-fourth from British possessions.
From this country it takes only about three per cent, of the
whole. We should, I am afraid, find some difficulty in con-
vincing the public sentiment of Great Britain that we should
venture to tamper with the larger share of those supplies, and
probably increase the cost of every bushel sold in Great
Britain for many years to come, for the sake of doing a good
turn to those who are at present able to supply us only with
a fraction of our requirements. (Hear, hear).

“ That is the first obstacle ; let us assume that it has been
overcome. There follows an even more formidable assump-
tion, namely, that we have been able to devise a system
adjusted so ingeniously as to suit the mother country as well
as her possessions on this continent, in Australasia, in Africa
and in British India. If you take the trouble to compare
the existing tariffs, and if you will remember that these
represent the decided preferences of the different communities
concerned, you will see what a tremendous assumption that is.
But there is worse to come. You have got the whole of the
British colonies into line. Are you sure they will stay there ?
We all know that there is no such thing as finality in these
fiscal arrangements. Circumstances alter, new discoveries
are made, new trade communications and connections arise,
and your imperial tariff will stand in need of revision and
adjustment to circumstances as they alter from time to time.
Who is to make this alteration ? We must have an Imperial
Council, which might in itself be, no doubt, a very admirable
thing. When I, look around these tables I feel inclined to
submit a list of Canadian representatives which would take
away Lord Rosebery’s breath, and stagger Lord Dun raven.
(Laughter). But of this I am convinced, that the public senti-
ment of the Canadian people would not permit such an
assembly to tamper with what would be regarded here as the

Marquis of Lansdowne’s Farewell Speech. 369

domestic business of the Canadian Parliament. (Loud
applause). It would be almost possible to draw in our
imagination a humorous picture of the return of the Canadian
delegates to their own country after the adjournment of the
Imperial Council. They might find themselves in the painful
position of having to report that the duties upon some articles
in which you were largely interested here, some carefully
reared offspring of the Canadian tariff, had been removed or
reduced, and they would add that they deplored the decision
greatly themselves, but that there had been some log rolling
at Westminister and that they had been out-voted, perhaps,
because the South African and Australian delegates were
anxious that ostrich feathers and opossum skins should be
admitted duty free into a foreign country. I suspect that
before long they would wish themselves safely back in their
own Legislature again. (Laughter and applause).

“ I cannot end these observations without expressing my
gratitude, not only for your friendly references to the past, but
also for the interest with which you have spoken of our future
prospects. I rejoice to feel not only that you do not look
upon our departure with indifference, but also that we shall
carry with us your good wishes in the new career which is
about to open for us in another part of the Empire. I feel
that I stand in great need of your support in face of the heavy
load of responsibility which wall shortly be resting upon my
shoulders. The post which I am called upon to fill is
certainly one of which the responsibilities are heavy. Whether
we look at the historical interest of the nations by which it
has been inhabited, or whether we consider the vast problems
which present themselves to those who are to-day engaged in
securing the safety of the Indian Empire, in maintaining
peace and order within it, or in taking the necessary precau-
tions to guard the people committed to their charge from the
inroads of pestilence and famine, or whether, again, we look
forward to those other problems, which as time goes on, and as
education leavens and fertilizes these great masses of human
beings, and leads them to regard with increasing intelligence
and an increasing desire to take part in them, the public

24

VOL II.

370

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

affairs of their own country, of this no doubt can arise that no
more splendid or interesting field exists for those whose
ambition it is to serve their country and the Empire of the
Queen. (Great applause).

“ And now, Mr. Mayor, it remains for me to thank you
once more for your kindness to us, and for all the kindness
which we have received at the hands of your citizens. We
shall leave you, but nothing can rob us of the memorials and
associations which have grown up since we have lived amongst
you — memories and associations which we shall preserve
amongst the most treasured reminiscences of our lives. (Loud
applause). How many and how pleasant will be the Cana-
dian visions which, in years to come, will float across the field
of our imaginations when we are far from hence. Visions of
the Canadian spring, and of wood and field, bursting, as they
are bursting now, into leaf and flower. Visions of summer and
of delightful rambles among your mountains and rivers.
Visions of autumn, and of hillsides clothed in hues which no
eastern splendour could surpass. Visions of winter, with its
clear skies, its exhilarating sports out of doors, and within, the
bright fire of Gatineau logs, with our children and friends
gathered round us. (Applause). Visions of all these and
many more will come back to us as we roam unconsciously
through the past. But, sir, above all and through all, there
will stand out clearly, as it were, in the foreground of the
picture, the recollection of the people with whom, during these
years, we have lived in the happiest and most unconstrained
relations, a people, kindly, hospitable and generous to a fault.
(Applause). And of no part of the Dominion shall we carry
away pleasanter or more affectionate recollections than of this
city, the city which has been our home, and around which
there have grown up all those tender and touching associa-
tions which belong to the word. We did not know how deeply
our roots had struck here until the time came when it was
'necessary to tear them up. (Great applause).

“ Mr. Mayor, I will close what I have to say with a confes-
sion. I spent three-quarters of an hour last night in endea-
vouring to compose a peroration for this speech, but I could

Marquis of Lansdowne’s Farewell Speech. 371

not hit upon anything quite to my liking. I have often
noticed that a speaker will make you a speech transparent in
its sincerity and devoid of affectation until he arrives at
his concluding passage. I felt, that to-night anything of a
conventional kind would jar with my own feelings, to such an
extent that I consigned my peroration to the fire-place,
where it ended, as most perorations do, in smoke. (Laughter
and applause).

“ Under these distressing circumstances, I am going to ask
your permission to read to you in lieu of a peroration one or
two sentences from a document discovered at Government
House in an apartment which will, I understand, shortly be
occupied by Lord Stanley of Preston. It is evidently a frag-
ment or a series of fragments of a dairy, and you may be able
to aid me with a conjecture as to its authorship. The first
entry is dated towards the close of 1883. It runs as follows :
‘ In for five years of expatriation ; almost wish I had stuck to
North Wiltshire ; must make the best of it.’ (Laughter). The
next entry is in 1884. ‘We are making the best of it, and
find it very far from unpleasant ; the five years will pass
quickly/ Then comes a note in the following year: ‘Time
passes very quickly and pleasantly. I take back what I wrote
about expatriation/ (Loud laughter). After this comes the
following in 1886 : ‘ Time positively flying ; we are beginning
to feel quite at home here ; not quite sure that we shall not
have to make it six years instead of five/ (Renewed laughter).
Then, sir, there comes in 1887 an entry occasioned evidently
by some event which exercised a very great effect on the mind
of the writer. ‘ These Canadians are splendid fellows, and
have stood by us nobly. We have quite made up our minds
to make it six years/ (Great applause). Last of all comes
an entry written in rather shaky characters and running thus :
‘ Why could not D. remain where he was ? It goes to our
heart to leave this country and its kind-hearted people. I
trust they will remember us — we shall not forget them — while
we live/ And, Mr. Mayor, take my word for it, we shall not.”
(Tremendous cheers).

When His Excellency resumed his seat he received

372

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

another ovation, the cheering and applause lasting for a con-
siderable time.

The Mayor proposed the toast of “ The Queen’s Privy
Council in Canada,” remarking that there were present not
only members of the Government, but ex-Ministers, leaders of
the other great party in the country. (Applause).

Sir John Macdonald on rising received a perfect ovation,
cheer after cheer ringing through the room. He said “ the
toast was a very appropriate one, selected with the best spirit
and would be productive of the best effect. (Cheers). The
Privy Council was composed of some of the chief men of
Canada, not all agreeing in sentiment, but agreeing to dis-
agree, and all anxious for the prosperity of a common country.
(Applause). They were cordially united to convey in the
most unmistakeable manner a respectful regard for the repre-
sentative of the Sovereign, whose departure they all deeply
regretted. After what had been so well said by the Mayor, it
would be out of place to add a single word, with the exception
of expressing, as a Privy Councillor, his deep sense of grati-
tude for His Excellency’s kindness and sincere desire for the
prosperity of Canada. (Cheers). He paid the distinguished
gentleman a high compliment as a constitutional Governor.
(Applause). He had displayed great zeal and ability in the
discharge of his duty, and a singleness of mind, heart and
intellect in everything connected with the interests of Canada.
(Hear, hear). He could say that on many occasions he had
usefully accepted the advice His Excellency had been kind
enough to give. (Hear, hear). He regarded him with the
greatest affection and esteem, and he hoped he would be
spared to prove himself as graceful in the greater scene to
which he had been called. (Applause). He predicted that
when he returned to the mother country, after serving well his
Queen in India, that he would assume that high position in
the councils of the nation, which his distinguished abilities fit
him for. (Cheers). At that time he had no doubt he would
not forget his love for Canada and the Canadian people.
(Hear, hear). He could hardly trust himself to speak of Lady
Lansdowne. They all loved her for her amiability and court-

Lord Lansdowne’s Popularity.

373

es y, and her anxious desire to make everyone feel happy.
(Applause). Her Excellency was sincerity itself, and she had
told him that the happiest hours of her life had been spent in
this country. (Applause). He again and again expressed
his deepest regret at the departure of His Excellency and
Lady Lansdowne, and sat down amid a perfect hurricane of
applause.”

Sir Hector Langevin followed in a similar strain. Speaking
on behalf of the French-Canadian people, he said “they never
had a more popular representative of Her Majesty than Lord
Lansdowne. (Cheers). He not only knew what the wants of
the people were, but also the wishes of the Queen, and he
could truthfully say that from one end of Canada to the other
there could not be found one man more Canadian than Lord
Lansdowne.” (Cheers). He also spoke kindly of Lady Lans-
downe, and closed with an appropriate sentence in French.
(Applause).

Honourable Mr. Laurier spoke of the pride the French-
Canadians felt at living under the British flag. Lord Lans-
downe had more than fulfilled all expectations, and would carry
away with him the affections of the people he governed so
well. His utterances were inspiring and were well received.
He sat down amid great applause.

Sir Richard Cartwright followed in a happy speech and
was frequently cheered.

His Excellency then proposed in a few felicitious sentences
the health of the “ Mayor and Corporation of the City of
Ottawa,” which was received with three times three.

His Worship responded in happy terms, and the festive
proceedings were brought to a close by the band playing the
National Anthem.

“ In its editorial commenting upon the demonstration, the
Citizen expressed view's which, it is safe to say,- were fully and
enthusiastically endorsed by every one who read them.

“ Canada has been exceptionally favoured in the selection
of Her Majesty’s representatives, since Confederation. Lord
Monck, Lord Lisgar, the Earl of Dufferin, the Marquis of Lome
and the Marquis of Lansdowne have each, in their time, main-

374

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

tained that attitude of perfect neutrality towards political
parties, that ‘subtle and inward balance of sympathy, judgment
and ‘ opinion/ so well becoming, so necessary to those entrusted
with vice-regal responsibilities in a constitutionally governed
country ; each has, towards Ministers of the Crown, Parlia-
ment and People, worthily performed the difficult task of
assisting in laying deep and strong the foundation of a great
nationality — the future right arm of the British Empire on
this portion of the American continent ; each has endeared
himself to those Canadians who can appreciate the success-
ful discharge of duties demanding the best and highest
elements of statesmanship. Lord Lansdowne, during his
administration, has closely identified himself with the social
life of the Dominion ; instinct, and a careful training in the
political school of the mother country, prompted him, at all
times, to sympathise with the every day life, the every day
aspirations of the people. Like one of his worthy predecess-
ors, Lord Dufferin, his constant aim appeared to be, to draw
all classes towards him. Canada’s industrial, commercial,
agricultural and philanthropic interests, on all occasions,
received his ardent support ; no appeal was responded to in a
niggardly spirit ; his purse was open to every local charity;
his eloquence heard in advocacy of every national project.
Hence, the magnificent demonstration tendered to him last
night, was an unstinted and unreserved mark of appreciation, a
worthy tribute to a worthy Governor and distinguished man.”
Lord Lansdowne was succeeded as Governor-General by
the Right Honourable Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley, G. C. B.,
Baron Stanley of Preston, the second son of the fourteenth
Earl of Derby. He was born on January 15, 1841, and
received his education at Eton. He was formerly a captain in
the Grenadier Guards, and is now Honorary Colonel 3rd and
4th Battalions, Kings’ Own (Royal Lancaster) Regiment.
He is also a supernumerary A. D. C. to Her Majesty the
Queen. He was a member of the House of Commons from
1865 to 1886, when he was raised to the Peerage. On May
31, 1864, he was married to Lady Constance Villiers, eldest
daughter of the fourth Earl of Clarendon, K. G. His official

Lord Stanley as Governor-General.

375

experience extends over a great many years, during which
time he has served his country in a variety of capacities. He
was Civil Lord of the Admiralty, August to November, 1868 ;
Financial Secretary to War Office, 1874-7 ; Secretary to
Treasury, 1878 ; Secretary of State for War 1878-80 ; Secre-
tary of State for the Colonies 1885-6, and President of the
Board of Trade, 1886-88. During the time he sat in the House
of Commons he represented Preston, 1865-8 ; North Lanca-
shire, 1868-85, an d Blackpool division of Lancashire, 1885-6.
He was appointed Governor-General of Canada May 1st, and
sworn in at Ottawa June 11, 1888.

Immediately after the ceremony, he was presented with an
address of welcome by the Mayor (Mr. McLeod Stewart) and
the Corporation of the city. His reply was so hearty in
manner, so simple in expression, and so natural in every
respect, that those who had the pleasure of hearing it felt that
they were listening to words which sprang from his heart. Of
his predecessor he spoke in warmest praise, saying : “ Among
the long roll of distinguished men who have filled the high
office to which I have been appointed, there is none whose
name will be written in more golden letters in the history of
this country, than that of Lord Lansdowne after his career of
office. He has, I venture to say, endeared himself to all with
whom he has been brought in contact. His great abilities,
his calm judgment, his knowledge, his courteous manner, have
all contributed to make him maintain, as I think he can justly
claim to have maintained, the high reputation of his house,
and the character of an English statesman. He, I know, felt
nothing but unmixed regret in leaving the country where, from
the commencement of his sojourn, he had been received with
such frank hospitality and with such hearty good will, and
although I have been but a few hours amongst you, I think I
can say that I have already experienced, aye, even before my
arrival, that hospitality, that kindness, that cordiality, which
has made the name of every citizen of this Dominion prover-
bial, and I have fallen even now under a certain amount of the
charm which, after riper experience, seems to have settled
upon my predecessors.”

376 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

When His Excellency spoke of the principles which had
actuated him in his past political life, he impressed all present
with a feeling that, as the Governor-General of Canada, his
highest aim would be to discharge the duties of his office in an
honest and faithful manner, and to endeavour, by kindness
and tact, to cause the machinery of government to move
with as little friction as possible. On this point he said, “ You
have been good enough to refer to other offices which it has
been my lot to hold at different times. In all these various
situations, it seems to me that there is one principle, and only
one, that can dictate with success a career in public life. It is
that of endeavouring to address one’s self with single hearted-
ness to the problem with which one may be called upon
to deal, with an earnest desire to remove all difficulties, with
an earnest hope to soften differences, if such may arise, and to
endeavour to have before one but one view, namely, that of
the public welfare. And when the time comes for me to lay
down the great charge, which this day and at this moment I
have the honour of assuming, then I will hope I may feel that
it is by that rule I have been guided, and it is by the result
that I am content to be judged. In the concluding paragraph
of your address you refer in graceful terms to the regrets
which you assume I feel in leaving the country of my birth
and assuming duties elsewhere. I think I have spoken
sufficiently already to show you in what spirit your kindness
is met. I reciprocate from the depths of my heart those
kindly expressions of which you have been good enough to
make use, and I trust that, be my career long or short, I may
feel when my period of office comes to an end, that I have
endeavoured, God willing, to devote to the utmost, my abilities
to the cause, to the interests, and to the welfare of your great
Dominion.”

The impression that Lord Stanley made on his first
appearance has deepened and extended as the years of his
term of office have rolled by, and when the hour of his
departure arrives, that event will be attended with the same
feelings of regret that marked the leave-taking of his imme-
diate predecessors, and he will carry away with him the same

•Death of John Henry Pope.

377

warm feelings of respect, admiration and affection. More
than that it would be impossible to wish him.

Of the three members of the Cabinet who went to England
to interest capitalists in the Pacific railway, two — Sir John
Macdonald and the Honourable John Henry Pope have joined
the great majority, and Sir Charles Tupper alone survives.
After serving his country faithfully and zealously for many
years, remaining at his post long after failing health warned
him that it was time to seek repose, the trusted and loved
friend of the Premier, to whom his whole heart was given,
John Henry Pope passed peacefully away, surrounded by the
members of his family, on April i, 1889. The House was in
session at the time, and the news, which was not unexpected,
was quickly conveyed to Sir John Macdonald, who, in a voice
so broken by emotion as to be scarcely audible, announced
the sad news of the death of his personal and political friend
and colleague, and moved the adjournment of the House. In
communicating the intelligence to its readers, on the following
morning, the Citizen bore testimony to the great loss the
country had sustained in the following touching words :

“ One of Canada’s ablest statesmen passed to his long
home yesterday afternoon at five o’clock. Many a tear will
fall, many a heart will ache, when the news is flashed over the
wires that John Henry Pope is dead. Few knew him as he
was in the confidences of social life ; few, save those who met
him at the Council Board, realized the beautiful simplicity of
his nature, coupled with giant intellectual faculties ; not the
mere flashy accomplishments, which charm for the time being;
but broad, practical, comprehensive views, manlike courage,
untiring iudustry — in short, lessons learned in the world’s
great school of human nature, not drawn from the artificial
avenues of speculative theory, or from the half-digested
opinions of closet students. Essentially a retiring man, who
preferred solitude to the attractions of society, Mr. Pope could
hold his position in any sphere. He cared for men as he
found them, and usually, as he frequently expressed it, made
no -mistakes in ‘ sizing them up.’ A keen wit, a natural
humorist, philanthropic to the deserving, a Ulysses in Council,

378 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

the lamented gentleman always commanded the onfidence of
his friend and colleague, the Premier, and orced those who
questioned either his ability to grapple with intricate national
questions, or the motives inspiring any action, to ultimately
regard him as the safest and most progressive head who has
presided over a department of Administration since the Union.
In losing Mr. Pope, who as Minister of Agriculture and after-
wards Minister of Railways, has worked in unison with him,
Sir John Macdonald loses a devoted friend, an able counsellor,
a sincere Canadian — and Canada is deprived of a man whose
single interest, at all times, was to develop her immense
resources and make her, as he firmly believed she should be,
the greatest Colony attached to the Empire, and eventually,
the greatest portion of the continent of North America.

“ The Honourable John Henry Pope, Minister of Railways
and Canals, was born in Cookshire, Province of Quebec, in
December, 1819. He was the son of Colonel John Pope, whose
father was one of those United Empire Loyalists, who came
from the United States, and formed a nucleus of settlers in the
Eastern Townships. Educational facilities being extremely
limited in those days, Mr. Pope received the rudiments of
education at the Common School at Cookshire, after which
he actively engaged in farming. At an early age, he was
elected representative of the Township of Eaton, in the
County Council at Sherbrooke. He was, however, first
attracted towards active politics, by the movement in favour
of annexation, in 1849. The question of annexation to the
United States was, at that time, somewhat favourably looked
upon, and public opinion was strongly towards its becoming
an accomplished fact. Mr. Pope, although then a young man,
took a strong stand against it, organized meetings in various
parts of the country, and upon Sir A. T. Galt resigning his
seat as member for the then County of Sherbrooke, Mr.
Cleveland, of Richmond, at the suggestion of Mr. Pope, was
chosen to oppose the late Judge Sanborn, who came forward
as the annexation candidate. The fight was bitter, but the
election resulted in Mr. Sanborn’s return by a very small
majority. It proved, however, the strength of Mr. Pope and

Death of John Henry Pope.

379

the friends who surrounded him. At the next two general
elections, Mr. Pope personally opposed Judge Sanborn, with-
out success. At the election of 1857, however, Judge San-
born’s experience caused a change of sentiment, and he
retired in Mr. Pope’s favour. He ever since sat as member for
Compton, and, although many times opposed, has always been
returned by overwhelming majorities.

“ The hand of death has pressed the life out of one of the
noblest natures, one of the truest friends, one of the best and
most successful lovers of Canada, this country ever could, or
ever will, boast of. He died as he lived, calmly, unostenta-
tiously. He died with the hand of a loving wife in his own,
the voice of a daughter, he cared so much for, sounding in his
ears ; the manly words of a son, in whom he placed all confi-
dence, solacing his last moments. He has gone — and with
him passes away one of the most devoted stewards of the
public demesne, who ever held office under any Canadian
Administration.”

But while we mourn the loss of these two great men, losses
which all recognize as irreparable, we rejoice that the services
of Sir Charles Tupper, one of the most able and eminent of
Canada’s sons is still preserved to us. During his whole life he
has laboured to advance the material interests of the country of
his birth ; first, in the legislative halls of Nova Scotia, and of
later years in the wider sphere of Dominion politics. He has
ever been steadfast in his principles and a devoted friend to his
leader and to his party. Caring less for self than for the pros-
perity and happiness of his country he has never hesitated to
sacrifice his own claims to advancement when it appeared that
some good purpose could be achieved by advancing another.
No one could dispute his claims, as Premier of Nova Scotia, to
a position of importance in the first Dominion Cabinet, but he
cheerfully declined, and yielded his place to another, because
he thought that a certain element should be represented, and
for three years, as a private member, lent a loyal and powerful
assistance to the Government. After that period it was recog-
nized that his country required his services in a more promi-
nent position and he was called to a seat in the Cabinet, since

380 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

which time no Conservative Ministry was considered complete
without him.

Sir Charles Tupper is a son of the late Rev. Charles
Tupper, D.D., of Aylesford, N.S., and was born at Amherst
on July 2, 1821. He is M.A. and D.C.L. of Acadia College,
and D.C.L. of Cambridge. He took his degree of M.D. in
Edinburgh in 1843, and returning to Nova Scotia, practised
his profession is his native place. In 1846 he married Miss
Francis Morse of Amherst. He entered public life in 185 5 ?
when he was returned to represent the county of Northumber-
land with Mr. A. McFarlane, in the Conservative interest, in
opposition to the Honourable Joseph Howe and Mr. S. Fulton,
the Reform or Liberal candidates. On the change of govern-
ment, which took place in Nova Scotia in 1857, he was ten-
dered and accepted the office of Provincial Secretary, and in
this course he was heartily supported by his constituents. At
the general election in 1859 he was again elected for Cumber-
land, together with Mr. A. McFarlane on the Conservative,
and the Honourable Mr. Young on the Liberal side; that
county under a new law returning three members. In i860,
the Government being defeated in the House of Assembly by
a majority of two, he resigned office and resumed the practice
of his profession in the city of Halifax. At the general elec-
tion, 1863, the province was swept by the Conservative party,
the Government sustaining an overwhelming defeat. Dr.
Tupper was returned for Cumberland by acclamation, with
Messrs. McFarlane and R. Donkin — all in the Conservative
interest. In consequence of the decided disapproval and want
of confidence expressed by the country, the Government
resigned immediately after the elections, and the Honourable
J. W. Johnston, now Mr. Justice Johnston, was called upon to
form a new Administration. Dr. Tupper was again appointed
Provincial Secretary, in the room of the Honourable Mr.
Howe, and on appealing to his constituents was re-elected by
acclamation. Upon the elevation of Mr. Johnston to the bench,
in 1864, Dr. Tupper succeeded him as leader of the Adminis-
tration, which office he retained until he retired with his Gov-
ernment on the Union Act coming into force. He was created

Services of Sir Charles Tupper.

38i

C.B. (Civil) by Her Majesty in 1867; K.C.M.G., May 24, 1879;
G.C.M.G., January, 1 886; and a Baronet for his services on the
Fisheries Conference, September 13, 1888. He declined a
seat in the Dominion Cabinet, 1867 ; was appointed President
of the Council, June, 1870 ; Minister of Inland Revenue, July,
1872; Minister of Customs, February 22, 1873. When Sir
John Macdonald returned to power in 1878, Sir Charles
Tupper was appointed Minister of Public Works. In 1879 he
was appointed Minister of Railways and Canals and retained
that position until 1884, when he was appointed High Com-
missioner for Canada in London. Just before the elections of
1887 he re-entered the Cabinet as Finance Minister and
retained the position for fifteen months, when he was re-ap-
pointed High Commissioner. In 1887 he took part in the
Fisheries Conference at Washington as one of Her Majesty’s
Plenipotentiaries, and carried a Bill through both Houses of
the Canadian Parliament for the ratification of the treaty. In
the fulfilment of the duties of his high office as the representa-
tive of Canada in England, Sir Charles has displayed great
energy and ability, and to his able advocacy Canadians are
indebted for many of the commercial privileges which they
now enjoy. At the call of his chief he returned to Canada
and took part in the elections of 1891. Being a good speaker,
forcible in his arguments, happy in his illustrations and elegant
in his delivery, his well stocked mind and intimate knowledge
of all political questions that effect the country proved of
inestimable value during the campaign. In fact, the history
of that memorable contest is altogether imperfect without a
full report of his speeches and of the active part taken by him
in all the older settled parts of the country, but as the one
central idea of these pages is to present a view of the services
of Sir John Macdonald, we can only refer in an incidental
manner to the work performed by others.

In giving an account of the later years of Sir John’s life
we have dealt only with the larger questions, and have not
gone into that more minute detail that was necessary in refer-
ring to former periods. This has been done for the purpose of
avoiding all appearance of a desire to become partizan or

382 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

controversial, and also because in his last great fight were
embodied the principles for which he had fought in the pre-
ceding years. We feel that this contest, which unquestionably
was the cause of his death, cannot be treated in the same way,
and that the Life of Sir John Macdonald would be incomplete
were we not to present to our readers the issues for which
he contended. The next three chapters will, therefore, be
devoted to a consideration of the questions involved in the
Chieftain’s last fight.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

Dissolution of Parliament, 1891 — Address of Sir John Macdonald to the electors
of Canada — Mr. Foster’s address to his constituents — The platform of the
Liberal party — Divergent views of Sir Richard Cartwright, Mr. Mackenzie,
Mr. Mowat, Mr. Charlton, Mr. Davies and others — Address of Honourable
Wilfred Laurier — Conservative meeting at Toronto — The Farrer pamphlet
— Enthusiasm at Hamilton — Immense gathering at London — A marvellous
day’s work by Sir John — Great political gathering at Kingston — Address
from the Primrose League — The Windsor demonstration — The Farrer-
Wiman correspondence.

N February 4, 1891, it was announced that Parliament

was dissolved, that nominations for the House of
Commons would take place on February 26th, and elections be
held on March 5th.

The season of the year selected was unusual and incon-
venient, and the period for which members were elected had
not yet expired, but the question of trade relations with the
United States had assumed so grave a form, and views so
extreme and so alarming had been advocated by some promi-
nent and influential men, that it was thought right that the
voice of the people snould be heard at the polls. The Govern-
ment, doubtless, felt assured that they could not only rely
upon the support of the Liberal Conservative party, but would
also draw to them patriotic men of all classes and opinions
who, at so serious a juncture in their country’s history, might
be expected to lay aside party feeling and party traditions and
vote for a policy coincident with national honour and indepen-
dence. During twelve continuous years the country had
thriven and progressed under the influence of the National
Policy which had fostered and protected every interest effect-
ing the manufacturers, the farmer, the merchant and the
workman ; the great Canadian Pacific Railway had been
completed from ocean to ocean ; cities and towns had been
built up with a rapidity that rivalled the marvellous growth of
the American Republic ; new avenues of trade had been dis-
covered ; the bonds of British connection had been more firmly
cemented ; and peace, contentment, prosperity and happiness
reigned from one end of the country to the other.

383

384 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

The history of these twelve years, and the policy intended
to be pursued by the Government in the future, together with
an explanation of the policy adopted by the Opposition and
its probable result, were laid before the country in a plain but
stirring address issued by Sir John Macdonald shortly after
the announcement of the dissolution of Parliament. This
manifesto was as follows :

To the Electors of Canada :

Gentlemen, — The momentous questions now engaging public
attention having, in the opinion of the Ministry, reached that stage when
it is desirable that an opportunity should be given to the people of
expressing at the polls their views thereon, the Governor-General has
been advised to terminate the existence of the present House of Commons
and to issue writs summoning a new Parliament. This advice His
Excellency has seen fit to approve, and you, therefore, will be called
upon within a short time to elect members to represent you in the great
council of the nation. I shall be a candidate for the representation of my
old constituency, the city of Kingston.

In soliciting at your hands a renewal of the confidence which I have
enjoyed as a Minister of the Crown for thirty years, it is, I think, conven-
ient that I should take advantage of the occasion to define the attitude of
the Government in which I am First Minister towards the leading politi-
cal issues of the day.

As in 1878, in 1882, and again in 1887, so in 1891, do questions
relating to the trade and commerce of the country occupy a foremost place
in the public mind. Our policy in respect thereto is, to-day, what it has
been for the past thirteen years, and is directed by a firm determination
to foster and develop the varied resources of the Dominion by every
means in our power consistent with Canada’s position as an integral
portion of the British Empire. To that end we have laboured in the past,
and we propose to continue in the work to which we have applied our-
selves, of building up on this continent, under the flag of England, a
great and powerful nation.

When, in 1878, we were called upon to administer the affairs of the
Dominion, Canada occupied a position in the eyes of the world, very
different from that which she enjoys to-day. At that time a profound
depression hung like a pall over the whole country, from the Atlantic
Ocean to the western limits of the Province of Ontario, beyond which, to
the Rocky Mountains, stretched a vast and almost unknown wilderness.
Trade was depressed, manufactures languished, and, exposed to ruinous
competition, Canadians were fast sinking into the position of being mere
hewers of wood and drawers of water for the great nation dwelling to the
south of us.

Last Address to the Electors. 385

We determined to change this unhappy state of things. We felt that
Canada, with its agricultural resources, rich in its fisheries, timber and
mineral wealth, was worthy of a nobler position than that of being a
slaughter market for the United States. We said to the Americans :
“We are perfectly willing to trade with you on equal terms. We are
desirous of having a fair reciprocity treaty, but we will not consent to
open our markets to you while yours remain closed to us.” So we
inaugurated the National Policy. You all know what followed. Almost,
as if by magic, the whole face of the country underwent a change. Stag-
nation and apathy and gloom — aye, and want and misery, too — gave place
to activity and enterprise and prosperity. The miners of Nova Scotia
took courage ; the manufacturing industries in our great centres revived
and multiplied ; the farmer found a market for his produce ; the artisan
and labourer employment at good wages, and all Canada rejoiced under
the quickening impulse of a new-found life. The age of deficits was past,
and an overflowing treasury gave to the Government the means of carry-
ing forward those great works necessary to the realization of our purpose
to make this country a homogeneous whole.

To that end we undertook that stupendous work, the Canadian Pacific
Railway, undeterred by the pessimistic views of our opponents ; nay, in
spite of their strenuous and even malignant opposition, we pushed forward
that great enterprise through the wilds north of Lake Superior, across the
western prairies, over the Rocky Mountains, to the shore of the Pacific,
with such inflexible resolution that in seven years after the assumption of
office by the present Administration the dream of our public men was an
accomplished fact, and I myself experienced the proud satisfaction of
looking back from the steps of my car upon the Rocky Mountains fringing
the eastern sky.

The Canadian Pacific Railway now extends from ocean to ocean,
opening up and developing the country at a marvellous rate, and forming an
imperial highway to the east, over which the trade of the Indies is destined
to reach the markets of Europe. We have subsidized steamship lines
on both oceans— to Europe, China, Japan, Australia and the West
Indies. We have spent millions on the extension and improvement of
our canal system. We have, by liberal grants of subsidies, promoted
the building of railways, now become an absolute necessity, until
the whole country is covered as with a network ; and we have done
all this with such prudence and caution that our credit in the money
market of the world is higher to-day than it has ever been, and the rate of
interest on our debt, which is the true measure of the public burdens, is
less than it was when we took office in 1878.

During all this time what has been the attitude of the Reform Party ?
Vacillating in their policy and inconstancy itself. As regards their
leaders, they have at least been consistent in this particular, that they
have uniformly opposed every measure which had for its object the

25

VOL II.

386 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

development of our common country. The National Policy was a failure
before it had been tried. Under it we could not possibly raise a revenue
sufficient for the public requirements. Time exposed that fallacy. Then,
we were to pay more for the home manufactured article than we used to
when we bought everything abroad. We were to be the prey of rings and
monopolies, and the manufacturers were to extort their own prices. When
these fears had been proved unfounded, we were assured that over-com-
petition would inevitably prove the ruin of the manufacturing industries,
and thus bring about a state of affairs worse than that which the National
Policy had been designed to meet. It was the same with the Canadian
Pacific Railway. The whole project, according to our opponents, was a
chimera ; the engineering difficulties were insuperable ; the road, even if
constructed, would never pay. Well, gentlemen, the project was feasible,
the engineering difficulties were overcome, and the road does pay.

Disappointed by the failure of all their predictions, and convinced
that nothing is to be gained by further opposition on the old lines the
Reform Party has taken a new departure, and has announced its policy
to be unrestricted reciprocity ; that is (as defined by its author, Mr.
Wiman, in the North American Review a few days ago), free trade with
the United States, and a common tariff with the United States against
the rest of the world.

The adoption of this policy would involve, among other grave evils,
discrimination against the mother country. This fact is admitted by no
less a personage than Sir Richard Cartwright, who, in his speech at
Pembroke on October 21, 1890, is reported to have said : “ Some men,
whose opinions I respect, entertain objections to this (unrestricted
reciprocity) proposition. They argue, and argue with force, that it will be
necessary for us, if we enter into such an arrangement, to admit the goods
of the United States on more favourable terms than those of the mother
country. Nor do I deny that that is an objection, and not a light one.”

It would, in my opinion, inevitably result in the annexation of this
Dominion to the United States. The advocates of unrestricted reci-
procity on this side of the line deny that it would have such an effect,
though its friends in the United States urge as the chief reason for its
adoption that unrestricted reciprocity would be the first step in the
direction of political union.

There is, however, one obvious consequence of this scheme which
nobody has the hardihood to dispute, and that is that unrestricted reci-
procity would necessitate the imposition of direct taxation, amounting to
not less than fourteen millions of dollars annually, upon the people of this
country. This fact is clearly set forth in a remarkable letter addressed a
few days ago by Mr. E. W. Thomson — a Radical and Free Trader — to
the Toronto Globe , on the staff of which paper he was lately an editorial
writer, which the Globe , with characteristic unfairness, refused to publish,
but which, nevertheless, reached the public through another source. Mr.

Last Address to the Electors.

387

Thomson points out with great clearness that the loss of customs revenue
levied upon articles now entering this country from the United States, in
the event of the adoption of the policy of unrestricted reciprocity, would
amount to not less than seven millions of dollars annually. Moreover,
this by no means represents the total loss to the revenue which the adop-
tion of such a policy would entail. If American manufactures now
compete favourably with British goods, despite an equal duty, what do
you suppose would happen if the duty were removed from the American
and retained or, as is very probable, increased on the British article ?
Would not the inevitable result be a displacement of the duty-paying
goods of the mother country by those of the United States ? And this
would mean an additional loss to the revenue of many millions more.

Electors of Canada, I appeal to you to consider well the full meaning
of this proposition. You — I speak now more particularly to the people
of this Province of Ontario — are already taxed directly for school pur-
poses, for township purposes, for county purposes, while to the Provincial
Government there is expressly given by the Constitution the right to
impose direct taxation. This latter evil you have so far escaped, but as
the material resources of the province diminish, as they are now diminish-
ing, the Local Government will be driven to supplement its revenue
derived from fixed sources by a direct tax. And is not this enough, think
you, without your being called on by a Dominion tax gatherer with a
yearly demand of fifteen dollars a family to meet the obligations of the
Central Government ? Gentlemen, this is what unrestricted reciprocity
involves. Do you like the prospect ? This is what we are opposing, and
what we ask you to condemn by your votes.

Under our present system a man may largely determine the amount
of his contributions to the Dominion exchequer. The amount of the tax
is always in proportion to his means. If he is rich and can afford to
drink champagne, he has to pay a tax of $1.50 for every bottle he buys.
If he he a poor man he contents himself with a cup of tea, on which
there is no duty, and so on all through the list. If he is able to afford all
manner of luxuries, he pays a large sum into the coffers of the Govern-
ment. If he is a man of moderate means and able to enjoy an occasional
luxury, he pays accordingly. If he is a poor man, his contributions to
the treasury are reduced to a minimum. With direct taxation, no matter
what may be the pecuniary position of the taxpayer — times may be hard ;
crops may have failed ; sickness or other calamity may have fallen on the
family — still the inexorable tax collector comes and exacts his tribute.
Does not ours seem to be the more equitable plan ? It is the one under
which we have lived and thrived, and to which the Government I lead
proposes to adhere.

I have pointed out to you a few of the material objections to this
scheme of unrestricted reciprocity, to which Mr. Laurier and Sir Richard
Cartwright have committed the Liberal party, but they are not the only

388 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

objections, nor in my opinion are they the most vital. For a century and
a half this country has grown and flourished under the protecting aegis of
the British Crown. The gallant race who first bore to our shores the
blessings of civilization passed, by an easy transition, from French to
English rule, and now forms one of the most law-abiding portions of the
community. These pioneers were speedily recruited by the advent of a
loyal band of British subjects, who gave up everything that men most
prize, and were content to begin life anew in the wilderness, rather than
forego allegiance to their sovereign. To the descendants of these men
and of the multitude of Englishmen, Irishmen and Scotchmen who emi-
grated to Canada, that they might build up new homes without ceasing to
be British subjects ; to you Canadians, I appeal, and I ask you what have
you to gain by surrendering that which your fathers held most dear ?
Under the broad folds of the Union Jack we enjoy the most ample liberty
to govern ourselves as we please, and at the same time we participate in
the advantages which flow from association with the mightiest Empire the
world has ever seen. Not only are we free to manage our domestic con-
cerns, but, practically, we possess the privilege of making our own
treaties with foreign countries, and in our relations with the outside
world we enjoy the prestige inspired by a consciousness of the fact that
behind us towers the majesty of England.

The question which you will shortly be called upon to determine
resolves itself into this : shall we endanger our possesssion of the great
heritage bequeathed to us by our fathers, and submit ourselves to
direct taxation for the privilege of having our tariff fixed at Washington,
with a prospect of ultimately becoming a portion of the American Union?

I commend these issues to your determination, and to the judgment
of the whole people of Canada, with an unclouded confidence that you
will proclaim to the world your resolve to show yourselves not unworthy
of the proud distinction that you enjoy— of being numbered among the
most dutiful and loyal subjects of our beloved Queen. As for myself, my
course is clear. A British subject I was born — a British subject I will die.
With my utmost effort, with my latest breath, will I oppose the “ veiled
treason ” which attempts, by sordid means and mercenary proffers, to
lure our people from their allegiance. During my long public service of
nearly half a century I have been true to my country and its best inter-
ests, and I appeal with equal confidence to the men who have trusted
me in the past, and to the young hope of the country, with whom rest its
destinies for the future, to give me their united and strenuous aid in this
my last effort for the unity of the Empire and the preservance of our
commercial and political freedom.

I remain, gentlemen,

Your faithful servant,

John A. Macdonald.

Ottawa, February 7, 1891.

“ EARNSCLIFFE.”

Mr. Foster’s Address to his Constituents. 391

The Finance Minister, the Honourable George Foster, in
his address to the electors of Kings, gave his view of the
meaning of unrestricted policy, and contrasted it with the
policy of the Government. It puts in a smaller space and
more comprehensive manner the opinions subsequently
expressed by Mr. Blake in his letter of March 5th.

“ The policy of the Government has been to assist in
developing foreign markets for our natural and manufactured
products, and to that end they have liberally subsidized lines
of steamers to the West Indies, China and Japan, and the
mother country. Proposals for reciprocity with the British
West Indies have been made by myself in person, acting for
the Government, and I have good grounds for believing that a
large and profitable trade may be opened up with these
islands for most of our natural and many of our manufactured
products.

“In its trade policy with the United States, the Government
have always favoured a fair and just measure of reciprocity,
and has made repeated propositions looking in that direction.
Until lately, however, the United States have made no favour-
able response.

“ Now, however, in the course of diplomatic correspon-
dence, the Government of that country, through its Secretary
of State, has intimated its willingness to enter into a confer-
ence upon this matter with the Dominion Government, and
has declared its readiness to commence this conference after
March 4th.

“ The trade issue is the great issue in this contest, and it is
of the utmost importance that each elector should have a
clear idea of the points of difference between the two parties.

“The Opposition declare for unrestricted reciprocity or
commercial union with the United States.

“ This means and can only mean :

“ 1. That no tariff duties are to be levied on any products
of either country passing into the other.

“ 2. That Canada is to adopt the tariff of the United
States, which is, on an average, twice as high as our own.

“ 3. That we are virtually to give up the power of making

392

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

our own fiscal laws — a thing which no free people has yet
been craven enough to do.

“4. That the tariff of the United States is to apply to all
British and foreign imports — that is, that while Canada
admits United States imports free of duty, she must discrim-
inate against Great Britain and the rest of the world, and
virtually prohibit the great part of the imports which now
come in therefrom.

“ 5. That loss and ruin will result to our manufacturing
industries, to our seaport towns, to our wholesale business, and,
consequently, to our farmers.

“ 6. That Canada will lose more than half her present
revenue, which will have to be made up by direct taxation. I
estimate the loss of revenue at $18,000,000 per year. The
direct tax necessary to recoup this will be equivalent to $3.60
per head, or $18 for each family of five.

“ 7. That ultimately the bond which now unites us to the
mother land will be severed, and that Canada will become
a part of the United States.

“ Please consider all that is involved in such a policy, and
then contrast it with the policy of the present Government,
which is :

“ 1. To continue to develop home industries, and the agri-
cultural, mineral and other resources of the country on the
lines laid down since 1878.

“2. To keep in our own hands the power of framing our
own tariff according to our own necessities.

“ 3. Not to discriminate against Great Britain — our mother
land, and the great market for our products.

“4. To raise, our revenue by indirect taxation on Customs
and Excise, and not by direct taxation.

“5. To meet the United States in a friendly way, and
negotiate with them for a reciprocity arrangement on lines
that shall be just and equitable, and in accord with the honour
and best interests of Canada, so far as it can be done without
infringing upon the lines above laid down.”

The platform of the Liberals may be said to have been
laid down on Wednesday, March 14, 1888, when Sir Richard

The Platform of the Liberal Party.

393

Cartwright closed an exhaustive and able speech by moving,
as the new fiscal policy of the party, the following resolution :

“ That it is highly desirable that the largest possible free-
dom of commercial intercourse should obtain between the
Dominion of Canada and the United States, and that it is
expedient that all articles manufactured in, or the natural
products of, either of the said countries should be admitted
free of duty into the ports of the other (articles subject to
duties of excise or of internal revenue alone expected). That
it is further expedient that the Government of the Dominion
should take steps at an early date to ascertain on what terms
and conditions arrangements can be effected with the United
States for the purpose of securing full and unrestricted
reciprocity of trade therewith.”

The leaders of the party did not seem to be united in
their views of the policy as expressed in this motion. We
find Sir Richard Cartwright addressing a large audience at
the music hall at Oshawa, on February 9th in these words.

“If the people wanted reciprocity they could get it, but
only on the unrestricted lines which include natural and
manufactured products. With unrestricted reciprocity there
was almost no limit that could be assigned to the trade that
would be built up with the States. For the last dozen years
Canada had been simply marking time. No wonder the
people were restless and discontented. There could be no
reasonable doubt that when Canada came forward with a fair
honest, and liberal proposition she would receive fair, honest,
and liberal treatment from the States.” (Cheers).

C. W. Scott asked : “ Does the Liberal party favour dis-
crimination against Great Britain by admitting American
manufactures free, and taxing the manufactures of Great
Britain ? ”

Sir Richard replied : “ Certainly we do. I will tell you
why. We have a perfect right to manage our own tariff to
suit us, the people of Canada. The interests of Canada
demand that we should have unrestricted reciprocity with
the States. We can only get it by taxing the goods of every
country on the face of the earth except those of the States.

394

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

That is undoubtedly part of our policy. I am ready to prove
that it is for the interest of Great Britain. Every English
statesman knows that it is more in the interest of Great
Britain to cultivate more friendly relations with the States
than to preserve our miserable trade, hampered as it is by
our protective tariff. Great Britain has to-day over $800,-
000,000 invested in Canada. Her interest in this country
as an investor is far larger than her interest in it as a trader.
It is far better for her that we should be able to meet the
interest on what we have borrowed than that our trade with her
should be preserved. I am prepared to prove before any
audience, either here or in Great Britain, that it is for the
interest of England as well as of Canada that we should have
a right to manage our own tariff and maintain our own agent
at Washington, which we should have done long ago.”

On the evening of the same day (February 9th) Mr.
Mercier, the head of the Liberal Government of Quebec,
addressed nearly 5,000 people in the Bonsecours market in
Montreal, and thus explained his views :

“It was not their desire to do anything rash. They must
respect the rights of the manufacturers, but it was their duty
to provide for the future. While respecting protection and
the National Policy, they had to prepare for the future, so
that the doors of the United States might be opened to the
agricultural classes. While protesting their loyalty to the
Queen and the British Crown, they were adverse to any
barriers to their commerce. (Applause). They desired that
when their farmers could not find a reasonable price for their
xluce at home, they might have a free market in the
United States ; in short, they wished for free communication
as in the period from 1854 to 1866. They then had pros-
perity and abundance of money, because the farmers were
in a position to sell their agricultural products to the Ameri-
cans. They now wished to remove the barriers that prevented
them from doing so.” (Applause).

Mr. Mackenzie, the old leader of the party, said “ I could
never consent to the Zollverein policy (commercial union) for
obvious reasons, but 1 cannot conceive why any one should

The Platform of the Liberal Party.

395

object to a favourable measure of reciprocal trade secured by
treaty and not inimical to the interests of Great Britain as the
heart of the Empire.”

In 1870, while still in the position of leader, he expressed
himself in these words : “ There is undoubtedly a very great
desire for extended intercourse with the United States, and I
am quite sure our people are prepared to discuss, in some
substantial way that will have some productive result, any
scheme which will be submitted by the United States. . . .
Your scheme of a continental system has the merit of extreme
simplicity, and also that of having had a trial in other coun-
tries in Europe. I fear, however, that it would affect prejudi-
cially our relations with the Empire, which, as at present
constructed, I, in common with almost all Canadians, desire to
see maintained. At the same time I am prepared to have the
plan considered, and by anticipation to work out the probable
results.”

Mr. Mowat, the Premier of Ontario, on several public
occasions during the campaign signified his approval of the
platform laid down by Mr. Laurier, but expressed his own and
Mr. Mackenzie’s strong disapproval of commercial union or
a Zollverein, and in stirring language, asserted the loyalty
of himself and party to the British Crown. He condemned
the National Policy and took a very favourable view of the
benefits which would be conferred upon both countries by
unrestricted reciprocity.

Mr. Longley, Premier of Nova Scotia, was reported to
have expressed himself in these words : “ Let no person be
deceived, unrestricted reciprocity means that we will have to
adopt the American tariff against Great Britain.”

Mr. John Charlton, M.P., in his address to the farmers of
Haldimand, said : “ The application of the principle between
Canada and the United States would require that the two
countries should have the same excise rates and the same
tariff upon imports from all other countries ; that the revenue
thus collected in both countries should be divided upon condi-
tions to be hereafter arranged ; that the customs line between
the two countries from ocean to ocean should be removed.”

396 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

The Honourable L. H. Davies, of Prince Edward Island,
another of the party leaders, is upon record as saying that the
immediate consequences of keeping our present outside tariff,
under free trade with the States “ would be that imports to
the United States, instead of being carried to the great ports
of the United States, would be taken to the States by way of
Montreal. To this the States, whose people are not arrant
fools, would never consent. An unrestricted reciprocity,
although it would suit us as well as commercial union, was
therefore impracticable.”

On February 12th, the Honourable Wilfred Laurier leader
of the Opposition, issued an address to the electors. In this, after
objecting at length to the dissolution, he discussed Sir John’s
manifesto, accepted the N.P. as the ground of contestation, took
issue with the Prime Minister upon his statements of the benefits
derived from that policy and arraigned the N.P. upon every
claim made in its behalf. The policy of the Reform party he
defined as “ absolute reciprocal freedom of trade between
Canada and the United States,” and stated that “the advan-
tages of that policy are placed upon the one consideration
that the producing power was vastly in excess of its consuming
power, and, as a consequence, the market of the neighbouring
nation of 63,000,000 of kindred origin was the best market.’’
He denied Sir Richard Cartwright’s proposition that unre-
stricted reciprocity meant discrimination against England or
that the Canadian tariff would have to be assimilated to
the American tariff. The loss of revenue that would follow
he treats in an airy way as “ a far off hazy consequence to be
pitted against an immediate result,” and to be met by a reduc-
tion of expenditure and redistribution of taxation. The
charge of “ veiled treason ” he considered a direct and
unworthy appeal to passion and prejudice, and concluded by
announcing that the trade question in the present contest
must take the precedence of all others and pledging the
Opposition to the solution of the same on the basis indicated
by him.

On February 17th Sir John Macdonald and Sir Charles
Tupper addressed an immense meeting at Toronto. The

The Toronto Meeting.

397

latter gave an eloquent and elaborate history of the past
twelve years, to which justice could only be done by giving his
speech in its entirety. He was followed by Sir John who,
after an able defence of his course as Prime-Minister, created
a profound sensation by laying before the meeting a most
treasonable document prepared by Mr. Farrar, editor of the
Globe. The following description of the meeting is taken from
the Empire of February 18th :

“ There have been many magnificent meetings in Toronto in
election contests past, but there has never been one to
approach the Conservative gathering of last night in the
Academy of Music, when the electors of the Queen City
turned out in thousands to welcome Canada’s great and only
Premier, and thebeloved chieftain of her loyal citizens. It is
safe to say that it was the greatest political meeting ever held
in Canada. Occurring at the height of a most eventful cam-
paign, marked not merely by the presence of the Premier, but
also by the assistance of his long-tried and brilliant colleague,
Sir Charles Tupper and signalized by two of the grandest utter-
ances ever made before a Canadian public, the meeting was
one that will exist without a peer in the political history
of the Dominion.

“ As was expected, the gathering was of such stupendous
proportions that all attempts to accommodate the numbers
were practically useless. As the throng from office and work-
shop were returning home at six o’clock they encountered on
the principal thoroughfares a stream of people already flocking
town wards. The street cars, even at this early hour, were
jammed. Admittance to the Academy commenced a few
minutes after six o’clock, when the supporters of Conserva-
tism, who had been fortunate enough to obtain tickets, were
admitted by the stage door. That narrow entrance was not
even then found equal to the press, and recourse was had to a
rear door off Dorset street that led to the basement. At 6.30
the theatre was partially filled, while outside was an immense
throng awaiting admittance. A mass of men and women
surged and crowded against the main doors, bearing down
every obstacle in their way. Police were powerless to make

398 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

any orderly arrangement for admittance. Shortly after seven
o’clock the main doors were opened, the waiting crowd entered
with a rush and a shout, and in a few seconds the whole
building was completely filled. It was then discovered how
small a fraction of the multitude were accommodated within
the building. What could be done was done. Every available
inch of room was occupied. With the additional chairs 2,000
were seated in the theatre, 300 were crowded on the stage, and
fully 1,000 more were jammed in passages and spaces behind
the seats. There were nearly 4,000 inside, but outside there
was a mass that numbered between 15,000 and 20,000. At
7.20 every entrance to the building had to be closed, still
the crowd outside surged and jostled in good nature. In the
press the large gas lamp in front of the theatre was carried
away, and the rupture in the gas main interfered with the gas
inside the theatre, rendering necessary the use of electricity.

“ At 7.35 two carriages drove up in front of the theatre, the
first containing Sir John Macdonald, Mr. W. R. Brock, chair-
man of the meeting, Col. Fred. C. Denison, and two members
of the reception committee of the Young Mens’ Liberal Con-
servative Club. Between the pavement and the stage entrance
a solid mass of humanity was wedged, rendering admittance
almost impossible. Appeals were made to the crowd to clear
an opening for the chieftain, but so dense was the force for
yards on either side that an opening was nearly a physical
impossibility. At length, after waiting nearly ten minutes,
during which many demands for a speech were made from Sir
John, the chieftain and Mr. Brock managed to make their
way to the door and to enter the theatre. A few minutes later
and the Premier stood on the platform, surrounded by a sea
of cheering, shouting faces, that could find no way adequately
to express their enthusiasm. Whirlwind after whirlwind of
applause and cheers shook the building. Hats, handkerchiefs,
flag’s were waved in indescribable enthusiasm. When the
audience were tired of cheering they sang ‘ For He’s a Jolly
Good Fellow.’ It was fully ten minutes before the multitude
had given vent to their magnificent welcome to the Premier.
Nothing could better prove the secure position the noble

The Toronto Meeting.

399

chieftain occupies to-day. Premier of the Dominion, he is
premier also of the hearts of his fellow-countrymen. When
the ovation had at length temporarily ceased, Mr. W. R. Brock,
who fulfilled his duties as chairman in a conspicuously able
manner, rose to open the meeting, only to be interrupted by
the entrance of Sir Charles Tupper, which was the signal for
another magnificent ovation of enthusiasm and applause.

“ The emblems placed around the theatre added a bright
and instructive aspect to the scene. As a background to the
stage, crowded with its influential auditors, were the mottoes :
‘Hail to Our Chieftain/ and ‘No United States Senators
Need Apply ’ ; while appropriately hung between these scrolls
were three shields with the words, ‘ The Old Flag/ ‘ The Old
Leader/ ‘ The Old Policy.’ The stage pillars and boxes were
adorned with the mottoes : ‘ God Save the Queen/ ‘ Disloyalty
is at a Discount/ ‘Welcome to the Cabinet/ ‘Progressive
Legislation/ ‘We Welcome Our Leaders/ ‘Encourage Home
Talent/ ‘ Canadian Labour for the Canadians.’ The railing of
the balcony was covered with these bannerets : ‘ Ottawa, Not
Washington, Our Capital/ ‘Canada for the Canadians/
‘Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince
Edward Island, Manitoba, British Columbia, N. W. Terri-
tories — A Noble Heritage/ ‘ A Fair Measure of Reciprocity/
‘ No Tariff Discrimination Against Great Britain.’

“ The stupendous crowd of 20,000 men and women who
thronged King street, between York and Simcoe, completely
baffled every effort of control. They were there. There was
not an inch of room inside the building, yet they were loth to
leave, and remained jostling and shoving around the doors
until after nine o’clock. Although the magnitude of the mul-
titude inside was great, the floor committee of the Young
Liberal-Conservatives worked nobly in endeavouring to handle
the throng in the pit and on the platform.

Mr. Coatsworth first addressed the meeting and was
followed by Sir Charles Tupper, who made one of the most
brilliant speeches of his life, and was rewarded by the hearty
applause of a very appreciative audience, which lasted for some
minutes after he had resumed his seat. The chairman, Mr.

400

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

W. R. Brock, after restoring order, then addressed the
assemblage of citizens in these words : “ Ladies and gentle-
men, — I want to say one word to this vast audience. We
all admire the Premier of Canada. (Loud cheers). We all
respect the Right Honourable Sir John Macdonald, and the
Liberal Conservatives love John A. (Vociferious cheers).

At this juncture the old man stood up, and as, in the
fulness of his years, he leaned slightly forward there was a
sudden outburst from the audience that fairly shook the
building from its vaulted roof to its foundations. The entire
gathering rose and yelled. Handkerchiefs, hats, umbrellas,
walkingsticks, programmes, and in fact everything within
reach, were waved by the audience. The enthusiastic uproar
was deafening. The grand old hero stood there motionless
as his heart throbbed within his honoured breast. This was
one of the rewards that fall to the lot of a man who has
spent his whole life labouring for the benefit of his race. It
was a proud minute for Sir John. The first words he uttered
after silence had been restored showed that, during the few
minutes of cheering, his memory had carried him back to
younger days when he himself was a citizen of Toronto.
When the cheering had subsided, someone shouted :

“ For he’s a jolly good fellow.”

It’s a question whether any Canadian was ever before
honoured by that whole hearted song in such a style. The
words came from nearly every throat, and the soprano voices
intermingling showed that the ladies were doing their share
to honour one of the greatest statesmen of modern times.

From enthusiastic cheering there followed a breathless
silence as the father of Canada addressed the audience. This
address, as a matter of course, dealt in a fuller form with
the questions brought forward in his manifesto, and we will,
therefore, not repeat them but pass on to the Farrer incident.

“ How could we expect to make a reasonable treaty with
the United States when these gentlemen of the Liberal party
W ere — to use a phrase that may be used by some of you,
although I don’t use it myself — going one better? (Cheers
and laughter). We said we must have control of our own

The Farrer Pamphlet.

401

tariff, but they said this is a matter of agreement, and we
will come and adopt the tariff. Of course, a tariff once
adopted, that tariff can only be altered by the Congress of
the United States and the Parliament of Canada. The
United States Congress represents 66,000,000 and our Parlia-
ment represents 5,000,000 to 6,000,000. The United States
is the stronger, and they would wag us, or otherwise the tail
would wag the dog, you know. (Laughter and cheers).

“ Well, Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, the con-
spiracy has been going on and I take the full responsibility
of making this statement, that there is a deliberate attempt
to induce the United States to favour the present Opposition
against the present Government, by holding out to them
hopes of annexation. How am I to prove that, you will say.
Well, I will tell you how. As you know, the Globe is the
Bible of the Sir Richard Cartwright branch of the Liberals.”

Sir John here gave an account of the transfer of Mr.
Farrer from the Mail to the Globe and continued : “ Since
then Mr. Farrer has been the ambassador between the Globe
or Sir Richard Cartwright and Washington. Now, a loyal
man brought it to the notice of a member of the Government
that this Mr. Farrer, — with his own hand — had prepared a
document for the purpose, to be used in the United States.
I will read to you the last paragraph of that paper, and you
will see the charge that I make, that all this negotiation at
Washington is merely leading up to a result which they con-
sider inevitable — the result being the annexation of Canada
to the United States. (Hear, hear).

“ This documents tells the Americans how they are to
force Canada — ‘You are to grant them nothing; you are
‘ to try to stop the bonding system ; you are to put a tax
‘ on everything that Canada produces.’ In fact, the document
points out every possible way in which Canada and its trade
can be injured and its people impoverished, with the view
of eventually bringing about annexation. The writer pays
me a great compliment. He says annexation cannot make
great progress as long as I am at the head of affairs. (Hear,
hear, and cheers). But then, he says, I am seventy-five years

6

VOL II.

402.

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

old. (Laughter). Now, gentlemen, you laugh at their
attempts to bulldoze us into this position, and I am inclined
to laugh myself sometimes ; but this document shows that
there is a treasonable conspiracy in Canada — (Hear, hear) —
and it is a treason that is to be met by every man, no matter
what his proclivities may be, no matter whether he reckons
himself a Liberal or a Conservative, a Conservative Liberal
or a Liberal Conservative ; so long as he is a British subject,
every man who feels his obligation as a Canadian will visit —
J ;was going to say with his vengeance — with his righteous
indignation any party that would be guilty, directly or indi-
rectly, of a conspiracy of this kind.

“ I know the responsibility of what I am saying ; but I
will read you the document, and I think you will say that I
am justified in characterizing it as I do. It is a rather long
document, and I will read its concluding paragraph, which
alludes particularly to the fisheries of the Maritime Provinces,
as the feature in which Canada can most easily be hurt.
What I shall read is a copy taken from the original galleys
and printed from the types of Hunter, Rose & Co.; and I
have got the original.

“ ‘ A word in conclusion about the situation in the maritime
‘ provinces. Outside of Halifax, the people, as a body, are
‘well disposed towards the United States. The fishermen’s
‘ phrase, that they should like “ to see Gloucester moved east,”
c in order that they might enjoy higher wages, commends
‘itself to the majority. Sir John Macdonald secures the
‘election of a Tory majority from Nova Scotia only by a
‘ system of largesse and corruption carried on without attempt
‘ at concealment. A constituency which returns an Opposi-
tion member is forthwith excluded from sharing in the rail-
‘ way subsidies and other appropriations lavished on the rest.
‘The fishermen have a saying that a Nova Scotia member
‘ on the wrong side at Ottawa is “ a spare pump in a dry ship.”
‘ In Prince Edward Island, where it is impossible to spend
‘ public money except on a few wharves and lighthouses, the
‘people return a solid Liberal contingent to Ottawa. The
‘ islanders are exceedingly friendly to the Americans, and it

The Farrer Pamphlet.

4 C 3

4 is said by one who knows the state of feeling there, that
‘ fully seventy per cent, of them would vote for full reci-
4 procity or for annexation, provided the question were sub-
■‘ mitted to them free from any entangling issues of a local
‘character, and that the Ottawa Government abstained from
‘the use of bribery. It is felt by all that Sir John’s methods
‘ of reconciling these provinces to the vast economic loss they
‘ sustain from being severed from their natural market in New
‘ England, cannot survive the man himself. No one else
‘could employ them with equal skill or success. He is now
‘ seventy-five years old.

“ ‘ The fishery question owes its existence, not to the
‘ people, but to the fish merchants and vessel owners. The
‘ traders in other lines would be glad to see the widest privi-
4 leges extended to the Americans, whose custom was once,
‘ and might be again, an important factor in the business of
‘ the provinces, more especially since the decay of the inshore
‘ fisheries has rendered it all the more essential that the coast
‘ population should be permitted to resume their former
‘ relations with the visitors. The influence of the fish mer-
‘ chants is far reaching. They control the newspapers, and
‘ to some extent the politics of the province. The headland
‘ question, the dispute over the right of Americans to enter
‘the Bay of Fundy, which was terminated by the arbitration
‘ in the case of the vessel Washington , and other points of
‘ controversy, were all pressed by them in the hope, to which
‘ they still cling, of being able to force Congress into yielding
‘ free fish. If their minds could be disabused of this notion,
‘ and they were made to see that free fish was not procurable
‘ through coercion, we should soon hear the last of the cry
‘ that to grant commercial privileges to the Americans would
‘ be to surrender an invaluable franchise.

“‘The imposition by the United States of a tonnage tax on
‘ all Nova Scotia vessels laden whole or in part with fish, would
‘speedily put an end to seizures and, indeed, to the whole
‘controversy. Another ready way of bringing the Govern-
‘ ment and all concerned to their senses, would be to suspend
‘the bonding privilege, or to cut the connection of the Cana-

404

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

‘dian Pacific with United States territory at Sault Ste. Marie.
‘ Either of these methods would rouse the full force of western
‘Canada influence against the Government. It would be
‘ better still to oblige Britain to withdraw her countenance
‘ and support from the Canadian contention, as she did in
‘ 1871. That would secure the end desired without leaving
‘the United States open to the charge of being animated
‘ by hatred of Canada, on which Sir John Macdonald trades.

“‘ Whatever course the United States may see fit to adopt
‘ it is plain that Sir John’s disappearance from the stage is to
‘ be the signal for a movement towards annexation. The
‘ enormous debt of the Dominion ($50 per head), the virtual
‘ bankruptcy of all the provinces except Ontario, the pressure
‘ of the American tariff upon trade and industry, the incurable
‘ issue of race, and the action of the natural forces making for
‘ the consolidation of the lesser country with the greater have
‘ already prepared the minds of most intelligent Canadians for
‘ the destiny that awaits them ; and a leader will be forth-
‘ coming when the hour arrives.’

“ I think you will agree with me that there is somewhere
and among some people a conspiracy to drive Canada into
the arms of the United States, by inducing the United States
to be as obstructive as possible and as annoying as possible to
this country. The abolition of the bonding privilege, under
which we have free intercourse, and every device that can
possibly hurt Canada, is suggested in this paper ; and we are
told that all the intelligent people of Canada think so ; that
these things must bring about annexation, and that the leader
will be found when that time comes. Gentlemen, that is the
position we have to face in Canada at the present time. Here
we have a Government and a people, and I believe an
electorate, as will be shown in a few days, that fully values the
privileges we have got, that believe we will be losers and not
gainers by such a union, and we believe that we have enjoyed
as great an amount of freedom as any country in the world.

“ I believe that we are as happily constituted as any coun-
try under the sun, believing that here there is social freedom,
there is individual freedom, there is political freedom, and

Canada’s Advantages.

405

there is an absence of those disintegrated and treasonable
qualities which threatened the peace and prosperity of the
country. We have no such questions as the negro question,
which was looming up so disastrously in the United States, to
bother us ; we have no large nuclei assemblage of foreign
anarchists ; you saw what they did at Chicago a while ago.
We have no such thing as elected judges, where the people
elect men who will decide according to the wishes of the
majority. We look up to England and to English tradition
for our guidance ; we have everything to lose, much more
than wealth, much more than money’s worth, we have every-
thing to lose in being severed from England; we have everything
to gain by the benign influence of Her Majesty’s Government,
a free Queen over a free people, but governed by principles of
religion, by principles of equality and by principles of morality
which a democracy never had and never will have. (Applause).
And will the people of Canada submit to such a thing ; will
they submit to men going off to a foreign country, aye, and
raising money for the purpose of driving the people into
annexation ?

“ I have no idea that the people of Canada will do that.
Why, Mr. Chairman, look at the fate of Poland. Poland a free
country, a gallant people, a great people, the greatest soldiers
in the world, one of the finest races in the world ; that country
was finally conquered by corruption. The people rose in arms,
and under their great general they fought against enormous
odds, but at last they were overcome, and when the gallant
Pole fell on the field of battle his last words were, ‘ Finis
Polina’ — that is, ‘the last of Poland.’ Now, we will not
have war just yet, but, if we submit to this kind of foreign
intervention, if we allow American millionaires or speculators
to come into this country, to be traitors among our ranks, to
spend foreign gold for the purpose of buying up our people,
‘ why, then we can say like the Polish general, ‘ Finis Canadia ’
— this is, ‘ the end of Canada.’ But there is no fear of that
(No, no). But if it should happen that we should be absorbed
in the United States, the name of Canada would be literally
forgotten ; we would have the State of Ontario, State of

406

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

Quebec, and State of Nova Scotia, and State of New Bruns-
wick ; every one of the provinces would be a state ; but where
is the grand, the glorious name of Canada which we now have
in one, and which we are now so proud of? It would, indeed,
be this in the end.

“ All I can say is that not with me, or not by the action of
my friends, or not by the action of the people of Canada, will
such a disaster come upon us. I believe that this election,
which is a great crisis, and upon which so much depends, will
show to the Americans that we prize our country as much as
they do, that we would fight for our existence as much as they
fought for the preservation of their independence. (Hear,
hear). That the spirit of our fathers, which fought and won
battle after battle, still exists in their sons ; and if I thought it
was otherwise, I would say the sooner the grass was growing
over my grave the better, rather than that I should see the
degradation of the country which I have loved so much, and
which I have served so long.” (Loud and prolonged ap-
plause).

After the Premier had resumed his seat, and the cheering
had. subsided the entire audience sang “ God Save the Queen.”
The gathering dispersed after three cheers for Sir John and
Sir Charles.

After the meeting the grand old man held an informal
reception on the platform.

Those who had thought that the greatest statesman of the
continent was yielding at all to the advance of years, were
agreeably surprised. As the great chieftain stood before the
admiring gathering his eye glistened with all its wonted fire
and acuteness, his voice rolled out distinctly, emphasized by
that appealing stress that age alone can give. His speech
possessed the same wonderful force of statement as ever, and
was adorned with the same pointed allusion and anecdotes.
The inspiration of his words seemed greater than ever before,
as he made a great and stirring appeal to the people of Canada
to preserve their country for themselves and for the glorious
empire, and not to hand so fair a heritage over to an alien
nation. Old Conservatives who have heard Sir John in every

INTERIOR OF HOUSE OF COMMONS.

( Shewing Sir John's Desk and Chair Draped. )

Grace Fenton’s Description of Meeting. 409

campaign for nearly the last half century said that his speech
was one of the greatest he had ever made.

How feelingly, how gracefully, how sweetly, did Grace
Fenton describe that meeting months afterwards, when the
loved leader lay dying, as the result qf his over-exertions in
that last campaign :

‘ It seemed as though a premonition of this evil day
touched lightly the hearts of that vast audience, for never
have I heard a welcome so thrilling as that accorded to the
Premier. It broke in great waves over the house, falling and
rising again and again, spontaneous, irrepressible, magnetic ;
and through the volume of sound poured a certain vibrant
note that told of something deeper than mere outward good-
will. It was a note of tenderness ; it was as though the very
hearts of the people had leaped into their throats and thrilled
into welcome.

“ And I think he who has been the hero of a thousand
enthusiasms felt the warmth and sympathy of this his last
Toronto greeting, and was touched and cheered thereby.

“ The fur overcoat he loved to wear lay thrown across the
back of the easy chair from which he had risen ; a cluster of
roses drooped near by, the light flashing through a glass water
ewer sent scintillating sparkles across his face, a little pale
and weary with fatigue, and his words dropped into stillness
— the intense stillness of a vast audience.

“ How he has loved his country, how he has worked for it,
sparing nothing of personal sacrifice, that he might accomplish
its welfare. Loyal always, faithful always, fighting all
detraction with a happy optimism that worked its own reali-
zation.

“ And now that he is resting, oh mothers of Canada, let us
teach our sons to carry on the labour in the spirit of loyalty
with which he has imbued !

“ And if it be that dark days come, when patriotism pale or
honour falter, let his be the name to conjure with, whose
magic shall stir our hearts and strengthen our hands.”

On the day after their great reception at Toronto, Sir John
Macdonald and Sir Charles Tupper left for Hamilton. Crowds

4io

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

of people assembled at the stations along the way anxious to
see the distinguished statesmen. As the train approached
each place long and loud welcoming cheers were sent up,
handkerchiefs were enthusiastically waived and men tried to
climb over each other to grasp them by the hand. When the
city of Hamilton was reached another splendid demonstration
awaited them. The platform was thronged with people who
cheered vociferously when Sir John and Sir Charles stepped
out off the car. As the carriages drove through the streets the
busy crowds along the way stopped to cheer and waive their
hats. Flags were flying everywhere from big buildings and
factories. All was, however, but a faint indication of the
tremendous demonstration prepared for the evening, of which
the following description is taken from the Empire :

“ Before it had yet become dark the pretty central city
park, the Gore, famous all over the Dominion, was lighted up
with innumerable and various coloured gas lamps. The effect
was magnificent* particularly when the wide and handsome
thoroughfare, King Street, gradually became packed with the
marshalling hosts of a mammoth procession. Column after
column of torchlighted forces wheeled into line from the
neighbouring streets. Prancing horses and caravans of all
descriptions bearing transparencies of political portent, fol-
lowed. Drays and pleasure vans carrying the cheering and
happy employees of the prosperous manufactories of the city
swept past the multitude. They marched and countermarched;
they played and they tooted their horns ; they cheered and
they shouted till the listening spheres paid back the great
acclaim. But this was not sufficient. Fireworks were started,
and a first-class line of fireworks they were. This kept up for
an hour and a half. There were not less than 30,000 people
out on the streets, and it may be added that no city in the
world could turn out people more orderly, good humoured or
better dressed. Hamilton did credit to Canada and to her
citizens. That was the object of the great demonstration and
it was demonstrated beyond doubt or question.

“ When the marshal had brought affairs to an orderly
termination in the vicinity of the park and got their torches

The Hamilton Meeting.

4i

into marching order, it could be seen at a glance that the
finest political procession ever organized in this country was
under way. As far as the eye could reach the darkness of
night was pierced by the light of myriads of torches, and an
incessant discharge of Roman candles and rockets illuminated
the line of march. Ten bands headed that number of detach-
ments of the industrial army which marched in their rear,
proud to have the opportunity of doing honour to the grand
old chieftain whose policy had fostered the industries which
gave them employment. Numerous transparencies, bearing
appropriate mottoes, were carried on lorries or borne on the
shoulders of the processionists.

“ The meeting held in the Palace Rink was gigantic in its
dimensions. The building is seated to accommodate 2,500,
but as almost all the seats had been reserved for the ladies,
2,000 of the intellectual voters of the city had to find standing
room as best they could. The building was filled up before
seven o’clock, although the meeting did not open till after
eight. Thousands were crowding around the building during
the interval preceding the arrival of Sir John Macdonald. The
police arrangements for admitting by private entrance only
those who had tickets, were perfect, and contributed in a great
measure to the orderly manner in which the people were able
to gain admission. Both inside and out the immense assemb-
lage of people was remarkable for orderliness. Enthusiasm,
of course, ran high, in fact nothing could excel it. The hall
was decorated profusely with British and Canadian flags.
The back of the platform was covered with an immense Union
Jack.

“ When Sir John entered there was an outburst of enthusi-
asm which, for its magnificence, was not even excelled by the
ovation which the grand old chief received in the city of
Toronto. The ladies stood up and waived their handkerchiefs
and cheered with all the power of their voices, while the way£
that rolled from the back portion of the hall seemed as if it
would lift the roof off. ,

“It was a happy thought which made provision in the
Arcade Hall for an overflow meeting. It gave opportunity

412

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

for a fraction, at least, of the people who could not obtain
admittance to the Palace Rink, to hear Sir John and Sir
Charles. Doors opening on the Arcade from James Street
were guarded by policemen, and kept closed until the proces-
sion was over, by which time an immense and impatient
concourse had gathered on the street waiting for admission,
and when the doors were opened so tremendous was the rush
that the front and side windows of the Globe office were
smashed to pieces by the surging crowds. In five minutes
the hall was packed to suffocation. The wide cornice even
was climbed upon by large numbers of adventurous young
men who were unable to obtain room for their feet upon the
floor of the hall. Such an ovation as Sir Charles Tupper and
party received upon entering the hall, and later in the evening
the veteran Premier and his body guard, it is no exaggeration
to say, has never before been tendered to any men, politicians
or otherwise, in Hamilton, not excepting even the demonstra-
tive welcome extended the same gentlemen in 1878. When
Sir Charles entered the hall the assemblage stood up and
yelled itself hoarse, and the war horse of Cumberland advanced
to the platform between ranks of most enthusiastic supporters
who welcomed the honoured patriot. When the enthusiasm
had subsided sufficiently for J. W. Nesbitt, Q.C., to be heard,
that gentleman made a few introductory remarks, burning
with patriotic fervour, and introduced Sir Charles to the
audience. Never did statesman address an audience more
perfectly in accord with the sentiments eloquently expressed
than the one Sir Charles faced. Each patriotic utterance was
received with loud acclaim in token of read) 7 acquiescence,
while every reference to the traitorous designs of our political
opponents was followed by correspondingly vigorous demon-
strations of disapproval.

“ Sir Charles had not completed his brilliant address when
Sir John, accompanied by Senator Sanford, A. McKay, M.P.,
T. H. Stinson and Alexander Turner, entered the hall. The
assemblage could not be restrained and the speaker had to
discontinue while the veteran chieftain made his way to the
platform.

The London Meeting.

4i3

“If the crowd had been excited before, the appearance of
Sir John caused it to go wild with enthusiasm. It seemed as
though the cheering and waving of hats and handkerchiefs would
never cease. Ladies were as enthusiastic as men, and if they
did not succeed in displaying it to the same degree, it was not
for the lack of will, but because of less vigorous lung power.

“Sir John having rested sufficiently after his lengthy
effort at the Palace Rink, addressed the Arcade audience.
Although pleading fatigue at the commencement as a reason
for the intention to make a brief speech, the aged chieftain
warmed up to his subject as he progressed and spoke for
about three-quarters of an hour.”

The next day Sir John and Charles Tupper went on
to London where the people were described as simply wild
with excitement. In the evening they addressed another
monster assemblage of people, the following description of
which is taken from a private letter :

“ A portion of the Drill Hall, where the meeting was held,
was apportioned to the ladies, no gentlemen allowed in. In
the rest of the hall the general public could fight it out for
breathing room. Seats had been provided for 4,800. The
hall was full before six o’clock. The torchlight procession did
not start from Sir John’s car until a quarter to eight. Can you
imagine the hall after the procession arrived? Hundreds
pushing and yelling like madmen to get into a place already
packed. Sardines in a box are comfortable compared with
that jam. When Sir John rose to speak, a large Union Jack,
about three feet long by two feet wide, made of flowers, the
same on both sides, attached to a staff about six feet high
covered with smilax, was presented to him — a gift from the
‘loyal Conservative ladies of London.’ It was very beautiful ;
the ensign on one side was all geraniums, the reverse side
carnations, and the Jack in the corner made of flowers of the
proper colour. The ladies attended in force, all armed with
small flags, which they waved like crazy children, until the
excitement was so great that many of them stood upon their
chairs and joined in the cheering of the crowd behind them.
Sir Charles told me yesterday morning that of all the meetings

4H

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

he had ever attended he had never seen such a grand and
enthusiastic one. The streets were running with water and
slush, and it was raining hard, but the crowd did not seem to
know it, and they waded through everything with apparent
enjoyment.”

Among the signs displayed on the walls of the drill-shed
were the following :

“Welcome to Sir John, Canada’s Greatest Statesman.”

“ Canada for the Canadians.”

“Sir John, You Can Trust London to Send You Back Honest John

Carling.”

“The Old Policy, the Old Flag, the Old Leader.”

“ Canada Shall Not Be Governed by Washington.’

“ London Will Not Favour Annexation.”

“We Will Preserve the Farmer’s Home Market.”

“No Sympathy With Treachery or Treason in London.”

“ Welcome to Sir Charles, Who Thrice Saved the Canadian Cattle

Trade.”

“ This, My Last Effort, for the Unity of the Empire.”
“Canada’s Noble Heritage Will Not Be Sold For a Mess of Pottage.”
“ No U. S. Senators Need Apply.”

“No Discrimination Against Great Britain.”

At the close of the meeting the great procession was
re-formed, and, accompanied by the Seventh Fusiliers band
and the Forest City band, escorted the carriages of Sir John
and his party back to the Tecumseh house. This procession
along the streets at 12.30 o’clock, with thousands of exuberant
citizens on the way-side, was the crowning feature of one
of the grandest political gatherings ever held in the city of
London.

The following day, Saturday, Sir John made a marvellous
effort for a man of his years. In the morning he spoke at
Stratford. At one o’clock in the afternoon he made an
address of nearly an hour at St. Mary’s. He spoke briefly at
Guelph, and arrived in Brampton about seven. Here he spoke
for fifty minutes in support of Mr. W. A. McCulla. His voice
was hoarse, but when he warmed up to the subject he spoke

The Kingston Meeting.

4i5

with vigour and roused great enthusiasm. He arrived in
Toronto about ten Saturday night, going at once to the
Queen’s, where he enjoyed a well-earned rest.

In the early part of the following week Sir John Mac-
donald proceeded to his old home, Kingston, and on the
evening of February 24th, addressed the greatest political
gathering ever held in that city, which was thus described by
the Daily News.

“It began to rain about five o’clock, after which a windstorm
arose and blew violently for some time. Towards evening the
rain came down harder, and later the night became very dark,
so black that it was feared the inclement weather would have
an effect upon the welcome to Sir John Macdonald, but
it didn’t, as the facts will show. The meeting was announced
to take place at eight o’clock, but as early as 6.30 crowds
began to collect in front of Martin’s Opera House. It kept
increasing rapidly, and ten minutes later the doors could not
stand the test, the crossbar was pressed from its fastenings,
and, the door yielding to the pressure, the crowd rushed in.
At seven o’clock the house was crowded, even the standing
room being occupied. Such an early crowding of the hall was
never known before. The manager of the opera house says he
never experienced the like. Many ladies called at the opera
house during the day and asked if they could have seats
reserved. The hint was taken, and soon the large stage was
cleared of its scenery and seats were secured from other halls
sufficient to seat 350 ladies. They were admitted by a back
door, and so eager were they to gain admittance that by 7.15
the stage was crowded by them also. At 7.30 the ways
leading to the opera house were jammed, and people were
again gathering on the streets.

“ The immense audience which crowded every available part
of the house — from the upper gallery to the orchestra seats,
and even the fly galleries above the stage — represented all
classes and creeds, and was most enthusiastic throughout the
proceedings.

“ Many hundreds were turned away, unable to gain
admission.”

4i 6

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

The next day Sir John proceeded to Napanee and there
addressed a large meeting characterized by the same hearty
enthusiasm with which he had been everywhere received in
his triumphal tour since the Toronto meeting, and was
presented with an address.

On his return he received from England a most compli-
mentary resolution from the Primrose League, which afforded
another evidence that, while he possessed the confidence of
the people of Canada, he also held and increased the warm
regard and appreciation of those in the mother country, who
had followed his long patriotic career. The address was as
follows :

To Sir John Macdonald , Premier of Canada :

We, as loyal subjects of our Queen and supporters of the British
Empire, send you warmest greetings and heartfelt thanks for the patriotic
stand you have so nobly made in defence of the maintenance of the
Empire ; and, although for the time being, dangers may menace that
unity between Canada and the mother country, we feel that the patriotism of
our fellow-countrymen in Canada will not allow them to swerve from their
duty to the heritage of glory handed down to them in trust for posterity,
but that they, like ourselves in the Old Country, will fight shoulder to
shoulder against that veiled treason which has for its object the disinte-
gration and dismemberment of our Empire, which has stood immovable
amid the ages of man and the downfall of nations.

We feel sure that the energy of character, skill, daring and indomit-
able valour exercised by our forefathers in England and the colonies will
stimulate us, whether in Canada or in England, to rally round the flag of
our Empire, upon whose dominions the sun ne’er sets, under whose folds
have been developed a degree of national felicity and comfort more rich
and uninterrupted than has ever been enjoyed by any other empire in the
world’s history.

We feel satisfied that with such guides as yourself the future of our
Empire is safe, and its progress secure. We therefore pray that your
valuable life may be long spared to still carry out your noble work in
defence of our national principles of empire and liberty.

Signed on behalf of the members of the Clarendon Habitation (No.
1642) of the Primrose League, in public meeting assembled.

J. W. D. Barron.

President and Chairman of the Meeting.

Hyde, Cheshire, England,

Tuesday , February 77, i 8 gi.

The Farrer-Wiman-Hitt Correspondence. 417

When Sir John Macdonald went eastward to Kingston,
Sir Charles Tnpper went westward to Windsor, where he
received a demonstration that for numbers and enthusiasm
was not excelled in the election campaign. The meeting was
held in the Essex Music Hall which was jammed to the doors.
In a speech of great power and earnestness Sir Charles dealt
with the questions of the day, and added to the sensation
caused by Sir John Macdonald’s speech at Toronto by giving
still further evidence of the existence of a conspiracy to compass
the ruin of the country. This evidence consisted of the pro-
duction of correspondence between Mr. Wiman, Mr. Farrer
and Mr. Hitt, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee
of the House of Representatives and was composed of the
following letters :

Toronto, April 22 , i88q,

My Dear Mr. Wiman : — Our Ottawa man will send a good sum-
mary of your speech, so that on our account you need not go to the
trouble of preparation. At present the C. U. movements is at a stand-
still. First of all, the Jesuit agitation, which is here to stay, has to
some extent supplanted it. Secondly, the general belief is that the
Republicans would not listen to any such scheme. Thirdly, a very
large number of people are inclined to think that we had better make
for annexation at once, instead of making two bites of the cherry.
Lastly, the old parties here are rapidly breaking up, and when Sir John
goes we shall be adrift without a port in sight, save annexation. More-
over, although the Liberals have taken up C.U., they are not pushing
it with any vigour. For these reasons the Mail has, in the slang of the
day, given the subject a rest. There is really no use talking it up to
a people whose politics are in a state of flux, and whose future is wrapped
in doubt. I saw Mr. Hoar, while at Washington, and told him just
what he says I did, namely, that the smaller forces favour annexation,
and will favour it all the more if C.U. be withheld. It seems to me,
and I have talked the thing all over lately with Maritime members, as
well as with Manitobans, that C.U. would only delay the coming of the
event those people most desire. Hence, in the provinces referred to,
C.U. does not take hold, whereas annexation will always demand a hear-
ing. In Ontario the Jesuit campaign has brought that aspect of things
home to thousands who would not look at C.U. The littleness and half-
heartedness of the Liberals is also very disheartening. Then, again,
the truth is that every man who preaches C.U. would prefer annexation,
so that the party is virtually wearing a mask. Can’t you come round
this way and have a talk ? Yours very truly,

(Signed) E. Farrer.

27

VOL II.

418

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

House of Representatives,

Washington, D.C., April 25, i88g.

Erastus Wiman , Esq., 314 Broadway , New York.

Dear Sir, — I am greatly obliged to you for sending to me the
proof slips of the “ North American ” article, and have been much inter-
ested also in Mr. Farrer’s letter, which surprised me somewhat, as I
did not think from his conversation, which gave me a very favourable
impression, that he would be so easily discouraged. The reasons he
gives existed before the Commercial Union movement began with
greater force than to-day. The Republicans as protectionists, it was
apprehended, would be against it. They are not. Their representatives
vote for it, their newspapers have received it kindly, and often with warm
approval. The Jesuit agitation, which has taken the place of Commer-
cial Union in his mind, is largely sentimental and will probably not
last long. The other, C.U., is a business question that concerns each
citizen, and in a way which he does not understand at first, but sees
more and more clearly the more he talks intelligently about it. There
is some logic in what F. says, of not making two bites of a cherry, but
going for annexation at once, but I think he is misled on that point in
a way that often occurs. Where a man is thinking much on a point
and discussing it, he is liable to narrow his horizon to those within his
reach, and his own mind, and perhaps those he meets, having passed
on by discussion to distant results, he takes it for granted that the wide
world, which is so wonderfully slow, has kept up with him and has the
same results in sight. We must be very patient with the slow moving
popular mind. If the Canadian public of farmers, artisans, lumbermen,
miners and fishermen can be, in three years, argued up to the point of
voting Commercial Union, and giving sanction to the movement in
Parliament, it wlil be great progress. Slow as such movements are
the comforting thing is that they never go backward. To you personally
it ought to be in your moments of reflection a consolation that long here-
after when this ball which you set rolling has gone on and on and
finished its work, everyone may then look back and see and appreciate
the services done to mankind by the hand that set it in motion. I shall
look with interest for what you say in Ottawa. The North American
Review article will have a powerful tendency to keep our public men
from scattering away on annexation next winter, and I hope we can get
the offer of Commercial Union formulated into law. I return the proof
slips of the article and the letter of Mr. Farrer’s. Very truly yours,

(Signed)

R R. Hitt.

p.S. — Just received yours of yesterday with Goldwin Smith’s ; it
reads admirably.

THE FUNERAL LEAVING THE PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

The Policy of Protection — Marvellous National growth and increase since 1879 —
Expansion of Foreign Trade — Exports to Great Britain and the United
States — Interprovincial Trade — The farmer’s best market — Exports of
Agricultural products by the United States — The condition of Canadian
and American farmers compared — Prosperity in Ontario — Abandoned
farms in the United States — American writers on the wretched condition
of the farming community — Thousands hungry and cold in Chicago —
Poverty and misery in all the great centres — Mr. Van Horne’s business-
like letters — Loyalty and disloyalty — The result of the election — Sir John’s
large majority in Kingston.

T HE policy of protection, to which Sir John Macdonald
referred in his manifesto, is contained in the resolu-
tion moved by himself in the House of Commons on March
7, 1878.

“ Resolved, that this House is of opinion that the welfare
of Canada requires the adoption of a National Policy, which,
by a judicious readjustment of the tariff, will benefit the
agricultural, the mining, the manufacturing and other interests
of the Dominion ; that such a policy will retain in Canada
thousands of our fellow-countrymen now obliged to expatriate
themselves in search of the employment denied them at
home ; will restore prosperity to our struggling industries now
so sadly depressed ; will prevent Canada from being a sacri-
fice market ; will encourage and develop an active interpro-
vincial trade, and moving (as it ought to do) in the direction
of a reciprocity of tariffs with our neighbours, so far as the
varied interests of Canada may demand, will greatly tend to
procure for this country eventually a reciprocity of trade.”
And his statement that “ almost, as if by magic, the whole
face of the country underwent a change. Stagnation and
apathy and gloom — aye, and want and misery, too — gave
place to activity and enterprise and prosperity. The miners
of Nova Scotia took courage ; the manufacturing industries
in our great centres revived and multiplied ; the farmer found
a market for his produce, the artisan and labourer employ-
ment at good wages, and all Canada rejoiced under the quick-
ening influence of a new found life,” finds ample justification

421

422

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

and verification in the records of the past twelve years. A
comparison of 1878 with 1890 shows the following marvellous
national growth and increase :

1878

1890 Increase

Miles of railway

Tons of shipping. .......

Letters and post-cards
carried by P.O. Dep. .
Deposits in chartered

and savings banks

Money orders

Bank note circulation. ..
Production of coal (tons)
Value exports of Canad-
ian cheese

Value exports of Canad-
ian cattle

Value exports of Canad-
ian sheep

Value exports of manu-
factured wood

Value exports of home
manufactures

6,143 13,988 7,845

23,102,551 41,243,251 18,140,700

50,840,000 113,580,000 63,140,000

$88,995,126 $197,892,452 $108,900,326
$7,130,000 $11,970,862 $4,777,862

$29,786,805 $47,417,071 $17,631,266

1,152,000 3,000,000 1,848,000

$ 3 , 997,521

$ 1 , 152,333

$ 699,337

$9,372,212

$6,949,417

$1,234,347

$ 5 , 374,691

$ 5 , 797,083

$538,010

$13,908,629 $20,659,348 $6,750,719

$18,182,647 $25,530,003 $7,347,356

The railway system, as will be seen, has more than doubled
its mileage, but to get a better idea of the expansion, we must
look at the amount of capital which has been invested, the
traffic that has sprung up, the earnings and the working
expenses. Ail these have increased more than 100 per cent,
since the initiation of the National Policy, the figures being :

Passengers carried

Tons of freight carried

Paid-up capital

Gross earnings

Working expenses

1878

$6,443,924

7,883,472

$360,617,186

$20,520,078

$16,100,102

1890

$12,151,051

17,928,626

$760,576,446

$42,149,615

$31,037,045

The shipping in 1890 was nearly 18,000,000 tons greater than
1878. so that to find employment for this increased tonnage,
the water borne trade of the country must also have expanded
to the extent of nearly eighty per cent.

During the same period of time our foreign trade has also
increased in a marked manner. For the five years — 1874-78

National Growth and Increase Since 1879. 423

t — previous to the introduction of the National Policy, the
total foreign trade, imports and exports, amounted to
$940,308,362. For the next five years — 1879-83 — it was
$983,375,079. For 1884-88 it was $999,164,938, and the
returns for 1889 and 1890, ($423,021,488), without allowing
for any further increase, indicate that the amount up to 1893
will aggregate $1,056,553,720. Sir John Macdonald went out
of power at the end of the year 1873, when the imports and
exports, for the year ending June 30, 1874, aggregated
$217,565,560. F or the next five years they stood as follows :

To June 30, 1875
“ “ 1876

“ “ 1877

“ “ 1 878

“ “ 1879

$200,957,262

174,176,781

175,203,355

172,405,454

153,455,682

He returned to power at the end of 1878, and, early in
1879, introduced the National Policy. For the next fiscal
year, ending June 30, 1880, the total trade amounted to
$174,401,205. In 1881 it went up to $203,621,663, and since
then it has only twice been below $200,000,000. For 1890 it
was $218,000,000.

Of this foreign trade the principal part of our exports went
to Great Britain.

Value of Exports By
Countries.

1 Year ending June joth .

Great Britain .

United States .

1879

... $36,295,718

$27,165,501

1880

45,846,062

33,349,909

I88l

53,57L570

36,866,225

1882

. . . . 45,274,461

47,940,711

1883

47,145,217

41,668,723

1884

43,736,227

38,840,540

1885

41,877,705

39,752,734

1886

36,578,769

1887

44,571,846

37,660,199

1888

42,572,065

1889

43,522,404

1 890

48,353,694

40,522,810

Total. ..........

$526,405,239

$466,440,590

Average for twelve years . . . .

$43,867,103

$38,870,050

424

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

These figures disclose how unwise would be a policy that
would encourage unrestricted reciprocity with the States, and
discrimination against the mother country.

There is also to be taken into consideration the interpro-
vincial trade which has grown immensely of late years. This
trade may be said to have become important only since Con-
federation. In the Empire of December 28, 1889, appeared a
letter from the pen of Mr. George Johnson, Dominion Statis-
tician, from which the following facts are gleaned :

“ Previous to 1854 the trade between Canada, then com-
posed of the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec and the Mari-
time Provinces, was small but growing. Then came the
reciprocity treaty with the United States, and this diverted into
United States channels so much of what scanty interprovincial
trade did exist that the value of the direct trade between the
provinces in 1865 — the last year of the treaty — was less by
half a million of dollars than that in 1853 — the year immedi-
ately preceding that in which the treaty came into operation,
while in the last few years of the treaty the total trade between
the Maritime Provinces and Canada averaged not more than
$2,000,000 a year.

“In 1866 the Grand Trunk established a line of steamers
between Portland and Halifax and St. John, which effected a
considerable increase in the trade, so that in the first year of
our confederated life its value had increased to over $4,000,000,
while the trade with the North-West was still practically nil.

“The opening of the Intercolonial Railway in 1876, the
completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway five years in
advance of the stipulated time, and its extension from Mon-
treal to St. John and Halifax .in 1889, afforded such increased
facilities that, aided by the fostering influence of the National
Policy, the trade increased by leaps and bounds. The inter-
change of commodities between Ontario and Quebec is
immense, and the interprovincial trade between the Maritime
Provinces themselves is also very great, but there are no
official figures, and exact estimates are difficult to make, so
that Mr. Johnson, in his paper, regarded Ontario and Quebec
as one division and the Maritime Provinces as another division.

Inter-Provincial Trade.

425

Adding all of Canada, west of the Lake of the Woods, as a
third division, he gives these totals as the value of the inter-
provincial trade actually in sight :

Eastward from Ontario and Quebec $28,000,000

Westward from Maritime Provinces 26,000,000

Amount carried by U. S. Railways 1,500,000

Between Eastern and Western Canada. 24,500,000

Total $80,000,000

As evidence of the rapidity with which this trade is
increasing Mr. Johnson gives the further facts, that “the tonnage
of vessels from the Maritime Provinces to the port of Quebec
increased in 1887 by thirty-three per cent, over 1886, and by
forty-seven per cent, over 1885. The wonderful development
of this interprovincial trade will be further revealed by a
glance at the following table of freight carried by the Inter-
colonial Railway :

Year

Flour,

Barrels.

Grain,

Bushels.

Lumber,

Feet.

Live Stock,
No.

Other Goods,
Tons.

1878...

.. 637,778

331,170

56,626,547

46,498

375,025

1882. . .

• 792,095

560,2 53

78,356,418

73,479

647,561

1886...

•• 739,091

843,949

116,253,382

70,246

759,320

1890. . .

■•1,094,193

2,597,951

209,904,071

80,065

917,039

And it is an unquestionable fact that this class of trade is the
very best we can have. It is better than exports to a foreign
country ; the purchases on both sides are made because of
necessity, and if we could not afford the mutual supply the
goods would come from abroad. As it now is, our own rail-
ways and vessels carry the merchandise, and Canadian labour
handles it. The profits, too, remain in the land.”

An English writer says, that “ home trade, home produc-
tion, home consumption, are three times the bulk and value of
foreign trade,” but American writers place a much higher
value upon them. It is, however, self evident that a market at
his own door is the best possible one both for the farmer and
the manufacturer, and that the greater the numbers of the
latter who consume but do not produce articles of food, and
who require raw materials for their business, the better must
it be for the farming interests. It is equally true that it is in

426

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

the best interests of the manufacturer to find a market for his
finished productions as near at hand as possible.

“ In 1890,” said Mr. Blue, see Bureau of Industry reports,
“ $440,000,000 worth of produce was raised by the farmers
of Canada. Of this, $400,000,000 worth was consumed in
Canada, only $13,000,000 went to the States, which, with a
deduction of $5,000,000 imported here, left only $8,000,000
worth actually sold in the United States. The city of
Toronto consumed that much itself. Who dare say in view
of this that we require the American market for the con-
sumption of our products ? ”

The farmer’s best market is, of course, the home market
and the problem for our statesmen to solve is where will he
find the readiest sale for his surplus productions after the
home market has been satisfied ? This foreign market is
naturally Great Britain, a country that buys annually nearly
$500,000,000 worth of articles such as we produce, not the
United States that has over $350,000,000 worth of the same
articles to sell.

The Canadian farmer has only to look at the vast quan-
tities of produce consumed by Britain to realize where an
inexhaustible market for Canadian farm products lies. The
prices realized there are good, and such articles as cheese,
meats and fruits as our farmers now send are among the best
paying products of Canada.

The British imports yearly of the very articles our farmers
can readily supply are as follows :

Cheese 203,765,508 lbs.

Eggs 93,222,585 doz.

Butter 189,326,409 lbs.

Oats 54,2^7,997 bush.

Barley 41,563,229 bush.

Wheat 108,646,763 bush.

Beef 110,447,975 lbs.

Bacon 427,358,151 lbs.

What other market in the world can make such a showing

as this ?

Does it follow that the United States is our “natural”
market because it is our nearest ? Is not an over-crowded

United States 5 Exports of Farm Produce. 427

country like Great Britain, which cannot feed its own popula-
tion, more of a “ natural 55 market than an essentially agri-
cultural country, such as the United States, which produces
and exports everything that our farms can produce and
export ? Isa big farm on one side of the concession line
the natural market for a smaller one across the way because
it is nearer than the market town, or because the owners find
it convenient to occasionally trade horses, or interchange
seed ?

And if proximity makes the United States the natural
market for Canada, Canada must also be the natural market
for the United States ? Are they not anxious to secure this
“ natural 55 market? In the May number of The Forum, the
Honourable Roger O. Mills, Democratic member of Congress,
and author of the Mills’ Tariff Bill introduced in 1 888 , has
an article on reciprocity in which he urges closer trade rela-
tions with Canadians* because, that under reciprocity their
trade with us would double in one year. Doubtless it would
and perhaps more than that, but it would displace our own
natural products or manufactures to the same extent and
Canadian producers would have to leave off producing those
articles they could not raise or make at equally low rates,
with the result that our whole farming and manufacturing
systems would have to be revolutionised to conform with the
altered conditions.

The United States exports hundreds of millions of dollars
worth of precisely the same articles that our farmers raise.
Therefore, if they become our customers it cannot be because
they do not raise enough for their own wants.

Many of the articles which they buy from us we see figur-
ing in large quantities in their exports to Great Britain, and
they, therefore, must buy in Canada as the cheapest market
and sell in England as the dearest market, and pocket the
commission made as middlemen.

The following table shews the exports of the United States
in cattle and their produce and in farm produce for the year
1890 :

428 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

Cattle

Number. .

394,836

$31,261,131

Hogs

“

00

•7-

Cs

909,042

Horses

66

3 , 5 oi

680 410

Sheep

tt

67,251

243,077

All other and fowls

120,725

Bones, hoofs, etc

271 C'*'?

Barley

. Bushels. .

1,408,311

754,605

Corn

a

ioi, 973 , 7 I 7

42,658,015

Cornmeal

. Barrels . .

361,248

896,879

Oats

. Bushels. .

13,692,776

4 , 510,055

Oatmeal

. Pounds . .

25,460,322

784,879

Rye

. Bushels. .

2,257,377

1 , 279,814

Wheat

a

54,387,767

45 , 275,906

“ flour

. Barrels . .

12,231,71 1

57,036,168

Eggs

. Dozens . .

380,884

430 , 1 5 1

Apples

. Barrels . .

453,506

1,231,436

Hay

. .Tons

36,274

567,558

Hides and skins

1,828 6"K

Beef, canned

. Pounds . .

82,638,507

6 , 787.193

“ fresh

“

173 , 237,506

12,862,384

“ salted

66

97,508,419

5,250,068

“ other cured

tt

102,110

9,223

Tallow

66

112,745,370

5 242,158

Bacon and hams

<t

608,490,956

47,056,760

Pork, pickled

n

79,788,868

4 , 753,488

Lard

a

471,083,598

33 , 455,520

Mutton

6 6

256,711

2 i ,793

All other meat products. . .

93 L 77 o

Butter

66

29,748,042

4,187,489

Cheese

6 6

95 , 376,053

8,591,042

Seeds, clover, timothy, etc.

2 , 543,521

Tobacco leaf.

21. IAQ.860

Beans and pease

261,212

558,317

Potatoes

406,618

269,693

Vegetables, canned

231,265

Wool

231,042

33,543

Total $344,675,715

A prominent member of the Liberal party made a speech
at the Auditorium, Toronto, on February 13th, in which he
endeavoured to prove that the Canadian farmers were not
prosperous, that they were overwhelmed by mortgages on
their property and suffering great injury by being excluded

Prosperity of Canadian Farmers.

429

from the United States market. His statement on this point
was endorsed by the Globe on February 19th, in these words :
“In fact the value of farm lands have greatly diminished and
the amount of mortgage thereon much increased throughout a
very large portion of this Dominion since 1879.” On the
other hand the report of the Ontario Bureau of Industries for
1 890, showed an average mortgage indebtedness (chattel and
farm) on Ontario farm property of less than nine per cent, of
its value, as compared with a mortgage indebtedness of fifteen
per cent, of its value in 1878.

The following table shows that the farmers of Ontario are
steadily increasing in wealth and prosperity :

Farm Lands. Buildings. Implements.

1882. . .$632,342,500 $132,711,575 $37,029,815

1883.. . 654,793,025 163,030,675 43,522,530

1884.. . 625,478,706 173,386,925 47,830,710

1885.. . 626,422,024 182,477,905 48,569,725

1886.. . 648,009,828 183,748,212 50,530,936

1887.. . 636,883,755 184,753,507 49,248,297

1888.. . 640,480,801 188,293,226 49,754,832

1889.. . 632,329,433 192,464,237 51,685,706

Live Stock. Total.

$80,540,720 $882,624,610
100,082,365 961,428,595

103,106,829 949,803,170
100,690,086 958, 1 59,740
107,208,935 989,497,911

104,406,655 975,292,214
102,839,235 981,368,094

i °5,73 i ,288 982,210,664

Some years ago (1886) the report of the statistican,
American Department of Agriculture, contained, amongst
other details of state indebtedness, the following regarding
New York, which is generally considered to be the wealthiest
state in the union :

“ There are a large number of farms, which were purchased
a few years ago and mortgaged, which now would not sell for
more than the face of the mortgages, owing to the deprecia-
tion of the farming lands, which, on an average, is fully thirty-
three per cent, in ten years. Probably one-third of the farms
in the state would not sell for more than the cost of the build-
ings and other improvements, owing to the shrinkage. . . .

The wages for farm help have been, for several years, thirty-
three per cent, more than the business could bear.”

The report sums up by stating that :

“The result of the investigation in New York shows that
three-tenths of the farms are mortgaged, and that one in
twenty of the farm proprietors is hopelessly in debt.”

430

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

We have here, in contrast, the American official report
regarding the condition of the farmers in the State of
New York and the Canadian official report regarding the
condition of the farmers of Ontario, the former declar-
ing that the farms in New York have decreased thirty-
three per cent, in ten years, and that one third would not
bring more than the cost of the buildings and improvements,
the latter declaring that Ontario farmers are $100,000,000
better off than they were eight years ago. Even this large
amount does not fully represent the advance made, for it must
not be forgotten that during that space of time the cost of
farm implements has fallen very much.

If there is any farming community in the United States
that ought to be prosperous it is the State of Illinois, where
the farms lie all around the great city of Chicago, affording a
market of over a million consumers of the minor products of
the farm, and yet, excluding chattel mortgages, they owe over
$147,000,000, the mortgage incumbrances increasing twenty-
three per cent, between 1880 and 1887, or twice the ratio of
increase in the value of the land.

In the report of the Illinois Bureau of Labour Statistics for
1888 it is stated that “there are 8,082,794 acres of Illinois
land under mortgage, besides the mortgages on 237,336 lots
and on chattels.” It appears that there were filed in 1887 a
total of 125,923 new mortgages for the immense sum of
$1 17,1 52,857. The report winds up by saying: “ Averaging
the total mortgage indebtedness, as estimated by the state
administration, it makes a debt of $520 for every head of
family in the state, while the new debt contracted in 1887
alone makes $146.25 for each head of family. . . . The

condition of Kansas and other western states is even
worse.”

An American writer, Mr. J. R. Elliott, has published a
book on American farmers, in which he says :

“ One who has been familiar with the past history of the
farm homes of a country, who has known of the struggles and
triumphs of the early possessors of these properties, cannot but
be saddened when he sees them, one after another, abandoned,

INTERIOR OF ST. ALBAN'S CHURCH ON DAY OF FUNERAL, SHEWING CATAFALQUE
AND SIR JOHN’S SEAT DRAPED.

Decadence of Farming Interests in U. S. 433

the lands to become the pasture domain of more successful
estates, or to be entirely given over to the public common.

“ Large tracts of country — away from the towns and cities
— in the old states and provinces of America are thus being
transformed ; and not only are these manifestations of failure
on the part of our old farms to hold their own against the con-
ditions of the times not confined to the old states, but are
rapidly extending over the continent.

“ Through the Boston Advertiser , a rather conservative
journal, we have the following graphic picture of the desolation
which already reigns over portions of Massachusetts, once the
settlements of happy and prosperous farmers :

“ ‘ Throughout the State of Massachusetts, away from the
‘ cities and the large towns, may be met, besides oral reports,

‘ traces of farms once yielding a support to their occupants, but
‘ now abandoned. The signs of former tenancy are to be found
‘ in conditions varying from the indications of recent occupancy
‘ to those of a generation or longer ago. Sometimes the
‘ dwelling house has a look of neatness, in its white paint and
‘green blinds, not yet yielding much to the weather. The
‘ barns, waggon sheds, corn cribs and other outbuildings will be
‘blackened of course, from exposure of their unpainted surface
‘ but yet have in them wear and utility. But the stillness of a
‘ solitude haunts the place and the sign, affixed to a tree, “ For
‘ Sale,” stirs in the practical observer the suspicious question,
‘ Why ?

“ ‘ The storms of several decades have worn the paint away.
‘ The clapboards are darkening in the weather. The mortar
‘ has crumbled from between the bricks in the chimneys,
‘ so that you see the light of the sky through the crevices.

‘ Some of the panes in the windows are broken. The front
‘ door hangs ajar. The wind sighs through the empty wood-
‘ shed. The outbuildings, first to go, are falling in. Acres of
‘ land, once cultivated, lie around. The sign announcing the
‘ place as being for sale is broken, and hanging by a single nail,
‘ and the words are almost untraceable.

“‘Another scene will represent a ruin. The roof has
• tumbled in. The charming prospect of hill and dale and

434

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

1 wood and setting sun is now never more to be shut out from
‘ the front door, where once the busy housewife may have
‘ sometimes glanced, for the door is swung far back and gaping
‘ on the scene, and no one is there to push it to. At some
‘ time or other the barn fell down, and the boards and timbers
‘are rotting from the repeated dryings and wettings. It is a
‘ scene of desolation. The suggestiveness of former tenancy
‘ imparts to it a melancholy, such as a mere old cellar or the
‘ traces of a stone underpinning do not have. These, too, may
‘be found sometimes in the midst of lonely woods, where the
‘ trees have grown up in the fields formerly ploughed and
‘sowed, so that the owner is already counting on their value
‘ at some lone sawmill. But where the remnant of a frame is
‘ standing, it suggests the farmer’s hopes, the housewife’s
‘ counsels, the ploughboy’s whistle, once known here, now gone
‘ forever.

“ ‘ Large areas are now offered for sale. The prices asked
‘for the land are low compared with the prices asked for land
‘ in the places where the population is growing.’

“ A writer in the Grange Homes , of Boston,. mentions seeing
farms sold in Vermont for less than the cost of the buildings
upon them. He pertinently suggests the query : ‘ The fathers
‘among the hills were. poor, but they cleared away the forests,
‘ raised and educated families and built homes. Why do the
‘buildings now sell for less than they are worth, with ioo or
‘ 200 acres of land thrown in to make the trade ? Yes, why are
‘ these lands being abandoned ? Why are the farmers becoming
‘ mere tenants ? Why are mortgages settling down on the old
‘ farms of America ? ’ ”

At page 40 Mr. Elliott says :

“ It is admitted now on all sides that farm industry is not
progressing in New England ; rather, fast losing ground.”

At page 42 he goes on :

, “ The decadence of the agricultural interest in New Ham-
shire and Vermont is now the object of official investigation.
Mr. B. Valentine, Commissioner of Agriculture for Vermont,
fi,rxds that good areas of tillable land c^n be bought in his state
at prices approximating those of western lands. Two hundred

Decadence of Farming Interests in U. S. 435

acre farms, with ‘ fair buildings/ good orchards and plenty of
timber, are being sold for less than $1,000. In some counties
large tracts of land of fair quality can be be bought for $3 or
$4 per acre. Town Clerk Fuller, of Vershire, Vermont, says :
‘We have many abandoned farms in different parts of our
‘ towns, with good buildings on them, that could be bought for
‘$5 or less per acre. All this land was once occupied by
‘thrifty and prosperous farmers/

“In forty-five agricultural townships in Connecticut the
decrease of wealth in the eleven years 1865-76 amounted to
$1,893,172 ; between 1876 and 1886 the decrease ran up to
$2,741,520. Out of 603 farmers interviewed 378 show a
yearly loss. As we travel away from New England to more
western lands we meet the same cry — the decline of agricul-
ture. The report on the financial affairs of the farmers of
Nebraska (1887-88) shows that of 215 farmers, over fifty per
cent, stated that they were losing money.’/

And at page 47, on the same subject, he says respecting
the state of Michigan :

“ The opinion of the labour commissioners of Michigan,
that the mortgages upon the farms of that state' operate as a
‘ mammoth sponge ’ upon the labours of the owners, is the
growing feeling of the majority of the. farmers all over
America — the older parts at least. The farms of Michigan
surround the great iron industries of the west. The state now
contains large centres of population, and its lands are fertile
and productive, and yet the farmers are evidently on the
downward track.”

Following up this question of mortgages, at page forty-
nine he gives the following picture :

“ The picture given of life on Saturday in a Kansas town
is certainly a startling one: ‘It matters not how dull the
‘town has been during the week, on Saturday the streets are
‘crowded with people ; on that day chattels are sold to satisfy
‘the overdue mortgages. At present these sales are numerous
‘in the west, outside of the corn belt, and a very large portion
‘of these do not realize sufficient to pay the mortgages.
‘Teams, waggons and horned stock, which six months ago

VOL II.

436 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

‘were considered ample security for a loan of from $100 to
‘$150, frequently fetch at public auction twenty-five per cent,
‘less than the price of the mortgage.’ ”

At page sixty-three he quotes an authority well known
throughout the whole continent, as follows :

“The Honourable David A. Wells says: ‘A few years
‘ago the inhabitants of Ludlow, formerly a most prosperous
‘town in Windsor county, Vermont, memorialized the legis-
lature to the effect that there were twelve deserted farms
‘within the town (townships) limits, and asked permission to
‘guarantee to any person who would lease and work them
‘exemption from taxation, local and state, for a considerable
‘term of years.’ He also states : ‘All over New England
‘farms in abundance can now be purchased for less than the
‘cost of the improvements upon them — yes, for less than the
‘cost of the construction of their stone walls.’ ”

Our extracts are already lengthy, but let us call another
witness, no less than Judge Nott, of the U.S. Court of Claims.
Writing to the New York Post on November n, 1889, he
says :

“ Midway between Williamstown and Brattleboro’ a few
years ago I saw on the summit of a hill against the evening
sky what seemed a large cathedral. Driving thither I found
a huge, old-time two storey church, a large academy (which
had blended in the distance with the church), a village with
a broad street, perhaps 150 feet in width. I drove on and
found that the church was abandoned, the academy dis-
mantled, the village deserted. The farmer who owned the
farm on the north of the village lived on one side of the broad
street, and he who owned the farm on the south lived on the
other, and they were the only inhabitants. All of the others
had gone to the manufacturing villages, to the great cities,
to the west. Here had been industry, education, religion,
comfort and contentment, but there remained only a drear
solitude of forsaken homes.”

The same story as to the wretched condition of the
American farmers was brought out in the evidence given
before the Committee of Ways and Means of the United

Decadence of Farming Interests in U. S. 437

States Congress, before the adoption of the McKinley Tariff
It has all along been said by the leading American statesmen
that the McKinley Bill was not meant to injure Canada but
simply to afford relief to their own farmers by giving them
protection against outside competition, and thus somewhat
improve their condition. That this assistance was necessary,
and, therefore, that no efforts of Canada will induce the
Americans to allay the strictness of that Bill, was amply proved
before this Committee. The American farmers are in such
sore straits that even with the great market of 65,000,000, of
which we have heard so much, they demand to be protected
from all competition which will further increase the immense
surplusage of farm produce which must seek a foreign
market. In reading this evidence it must be remembered
that it was given by Americans before the American Con-
gress, and was published for the information of their own
people, without any thought of Canadian elections. Let our
farmers read the story and say if they are willing to reduce
themselves to the same condition.

If unrestricted reciprocity were brought about our
farmers might expect to occupy a position similar to that
of the farmers of the State of New York, brought about by
the competition with western prairie fed cattle. The follow-
ing is taken from the New York Times of February 13, 1891 :

“ Never before was the market value of beef cattle so low.
At the present prices prevailing no farmer can feed cattle
without such a loss as to wholly neutralize the value of the
resulting manure, to which he has been in the habit of looking
for a part of his profit. Just now the feeding of cattle is the
most unprofitable part of agriculture, * and thus the ancient
maxim that it was the most important part of the farmer’s
vocation becomes wholly obsolete. The reason is not far
to seek. The low price of western dressed beef has reduced
the value of stock to this inadequate point. Sides of beef
are retailed from the refrigerator cars at six and seven cents
a pound, or less when competition is to be destroyed. The
western cattle are fed on the public lands, which are free to
the use of stock owners without any charge. Thus, the rang-

438 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

ing of stock comes into disastrous competition with farmers
whose lands represent large investments and which are taxed
on this basis. Good steers fed on farms have been sold at
two cents and less per pound. This low price does not pay
the cost. And as there is no other product which helps to
make up this loss, feeding is stopped, and the grain and hay
formerly used in this way is thrown upon an already over-
loaded market.”

While the farmers of the United States are much less
prosperous than those on the northern side of the border line,
the wretchedness and misery in the large cities is something
terrible to behold. Read the following headlines taken from
two consecutive members of the Chicago Herald in the early
part of this year 1891 :

IN SAD NEED OF HELP.

THOUSANDS HUNGRY AND COLD.

Many Touching Cases Where Desewing People Are Struggling to
Secure the Bare Necessaries of Life Discovered by
the “ Heralds ” Relief Corps.

ARE IN DESPERATE STRAITS.

Men Seeking for Work While Their Families are Starving.
CHILDREN CRYING FOR FOOD.

Relief Afforded a Worthy Family Which Was on the Verge of

Starvation.

IN UTTER WANT AND MISERY.

Many Families on the North Side Are Suffering the Pangs of Hunger.
AID FOR THE HUNGRY.

ASSISTANCE FOR CHICAGO’S POOR.

Many Contributions Being Received by fhe “ Heralds ” Corps That
Will Go Far Towards Relieving the Distress
Throughout the City.

Mr. Van Horne on Unrestricted Reciprocity. .439

HELPLESS AND STARVING.

Pitiful Condition of Many Children and Sick Men and Women,
in the Polish Quarter.

Families Slowly Starving While They Vainly Seek for Work.

MANY CASES OF SUFFERING.

Families Hungry and Cold and Sorely in Need of Help.

The Rochester, Buffalo, New York, Philadelphia and
Detroit papers reveal the same deplorable state of affairs
among the poor of these cities. The folldwing is the summing
up of a long article in the Detroit Sun ;

“ The poverty in all our great centres of civilization, as
well as throughout the landlord and mortgage cursed frontiers
of our land is, year by year, growing more terrible and more
general.

“ In the city of New York there are over 150,000 people
who earn less than sixty cents a day. Thousands of this
number are poor girls who work from eleven to sixteen hours
a day. Last year there were over 23,000 families forcibly
evicted in that city, owing to their inability to pay their rent.
One person in every ten who died in New York in 1889 was
buried in the Potter’s field. Those are facts which may well
give rise to anxious thoughts.”

Do we ever hear of such hardships, wretchedness and
misery in Canada ?

The effect that unrestricted reciprocity would have upon
our trade and commerce was very forcibly put by Mr. Van
Horne, President of the Canadian Pacific Railway, in a letter
addressed by him to Senator Drummond, and published
by the latter in all the leading papers. Being an American
by birth, education and training, and having spent the best
years of his life in that country, it may fairly be presumed
that his thoughts and aspirations would be strongly in favour
of closer connections with the United States, and that he
would appreciate, as fully as any man could, the advantages
which would flow from unrestricted reciprocity. When, there-
fore, we find him coming forward and giving expression to

440

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

the strongest opinions against that policy, and backing his
views with statements, the truth and force of which must
strike every thoughtful person, we are compelled to give him
the greatest possible attention. The first of these letters was
written in reply to one from Mr. Drummond, and was as
follows :

Montreal, February 21, 1891.

My Dear Mr. Drummond :

You are quite right in assuming that the statement in the letter
enclosed in your note of to-day is untrue. I am not in favour of unre-
stricted reciprocity or anything of the kind. I am well enough acquainted
with the trade and industries of Canada to know that unrestricted
reciprocity would bring prostration or ruin. I realize that for saying this
I may be accused of meddling in politics, but with me this is a business
question and not a political one, and it so vitally affects the interests that
have been entrusted to me that I feel justified in expressing my opinion
plainly. Indeed, since opposite views have been attributed to me, I feel
bound to do so. No one can follow the proceedings in Congress at
Washington, and the utterances of the leading newspapers of the United
States, without being struck with the extraordinary jealousy that prevails
there concerning Canada — jealousy growing out of the wonderful develop-
ment of her trade and manufactures within the past twelve years. It was
this jealousy that prompted the Anti-Canadian features of the McKinley
Bill. It was represented and believed at Washington that the Canadian
farmers largely depended on the United States for a market for many of
their chief products, and that their loyalty could be touched through their
pockets, and that it was only necessary to “ put on the screws ” to bring
about a political upheaval in Canada, and such a reversal of the trade
policy of the country as would inevitably lead to annexation. I have
found it necessary to keep well informed as to the drift of matters at
Washington, because the interests of the Canadian Pacific Railway have
been threatened by all sorts of restrictive measures ; and from my know-
ledge of the feeling there, I do not hesitate to say that if the result of the
pending elections in Canada is what the authors of the McKinley Bill
expected it would be, another turn of the screw will follow. No comfort
is to be found in the recent disaster to the Republican Party in the
United States. It was not the anti-Canadian features of the McKinley
Bill that caused this, but it was the heavily increased duties on many
articles, the manufacture of which, at home, was intended to be forced.
This increase of duties came at a time of general depression among the
farmers and working classes, and it was resented by them. Trade
relations with Canada had nothing to do with it. They were not thinking
of us. Putting aside all patriotic considerations and looking at the
question of unrestricted reciprocity from a strictly business standpoint,

Mr. Van Horne on Unrestricted Reciprocity. 441

What, in the name of common sense, has Canada to gain by it at this
time ? Thousands of farms in the New England States are abandoned ;
the farmers of the Middle States are all complaining, and those of some
of the Western States are suffering to such an extent that organized relief
is necessary. The manufacturers everywhere are alarmed as to their
future, and most of them are reducing their output, working on short time
and seeking orders at absolute cost, so that they may keep their best
workmen together. We are infinitely better off in Canada. We have
no abandoned farms and no distress anywhere, and there is work for
everybody who is willing to work. Our neighbours’ big mill
pond is very low just now, but our smaller one is, at least, full
enough to keep us going comfortably. His pond requires twelve times
as much as ours to fill. It is not necessary that a small boy should
be a school-boy to know what the result would be if we were to cut our
dam. Our pond would at once fall to the level of the other. Even if we
were suffering from hard times we could gain nothing by unrestricted
reciprocity. No man of sense would seek partnership with one worse off
than himself because he happened to be hard up. You can’t make a
good egg out of two bad ones. The Canadian Pacific Railway is far
away the largest buyers of manufactured articles in Canada. It buys
dry goods and groceries, as well as locomotives and cars ; it buys pins
and needles and millinery goods, as well as rails and splices and spikes ;
it buys drugs and medicines and clothing, as well as bolts and wheels and
axles. It buys almost every conceivable thing, and it is necessarily in
close touch with the markets at home and abroad. It has built up, or
been instrumental in building up, hundreds of new industries in the
country, and it is the chief support of many of them, and its experience
with these markets and these industries justifies my belief that unre-
stricted reciprocity with the United States, and a joint protective tariff
against the rest of the world would make New York the chief distributing
point for the Dominion instead of Montreal and Toronto; would localize
the business of the ports of Montreal and Quebec, and destroy all hope of
the future of the ports of Halifax and St. John ; would ruin three-fourths
of our manufactories ; would fill our streets with the unemployed ; would
make Eastern Canada the dumping ground for the grain and flour of the
Western States to the injury of our own North-West, and would make
Canada generally the slaughter market for the manufactures of the United
States, all of which would be bad for the Canadian Pacific Railway as well
as for the country at large ; and this is my excuse for saying so much. I
am not speaking for the Canadian Pacific Railway Company ; nor as a
Liberal or a Conservative, but only as an individual much concerned in
the business interests of the country, and full of anxiety lest a great
commercial, if not a national, mistake should be made.

(Signed) Yours truly,

W. C. Van Horne.

442

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

Sir John Macdonald concluded his last appeal to the Can-
adian electors in these words :

“ I commend these issues to your determination, and to
the judgment of the whole people of Canada, with an
unclouded confidence that you will proclaim to the world
your resolve to show yourselves not unworthy of the proud
distinction that you enjoy — of being numbered among the
most dutiful and loyal subjects of our beloved Queen. As for
myself, my course is clear. A British subject I was born — a
British subject I will die. With my utmost effort, with my
latest breath, will I expose the ‘ veiled treason ’ which
attempts, by sordid means and mercenary proffers, to lure our
people from their allegiance. During my long public service
of nearly half a century I have been true to my country and
its best interests, and I appeal with equal confidence to the
men who have trusted me in the past, and to the young hope
of the country, with whom rest its destinies for the future, to
give me their united and strenuous aid in this my last effort
for the unity of the Empire and the preservance of our com-
mercial and political freedom.”

Some Liberal speakers stated on the platform that their
party had been called disloyal because they desired free trade
with the United States, but that was hardly correct. It is
permissible for any political party to advocate any trade
policy which they honestly believe to be in the interests of the
country, without laying themselves open to reproach, but
loyalty, as taught by Sir John Macdonald and as understood
by all true Canadians, is to believe in British connection, to be
proud of our share in the glorious history of the mother
country, to desire to perpetuate the institutions and principles
which there prevail, to consider that Canada owes gratitude
and allegiance for benefits received in the past and to be pre-
pared to resist any efforts which may result in weakening the
ties which bind us to the old land from which we sprang.
With his “utmost effort,” with his “ latest breath ” Sir John
opposed those.

“ Who fain would lop, with felon stroke,

The branches of our British oak,

Loyalty and Disloyalty.

443

And, wronging the great Canadian heart
Would deem her honour cheaply sold
For higher prices in the mart,

And increased hoard of gold.

and encouraged the people of this country to feel and to pro-
claim to the world that,

“ Our pride of race we have not lost,

And aye it is our loftiest boast
That we are Britons still !

And in the gradual lapse of years,

We look, that ’neath these distant skies,

Another Britain shall arise, —

A noble scion of the old —

Still to herself and lineage true,

And prizing honour more than gold.”

This feeling is not confined to Conservatives ; it animates
also the wisest and best men of the Reform party, but, unfor-
tunately, there are others whose views are distinctly and
emphatically in favour of courses antagonistic to our present
relations with Great Britain and in favour of new ties with the
United States, who, while not exactly identified with that
party, are in antagonism to the Conservative party. These
men sneer at loyalty, disbelieve in patriotism, make light
of our allegiance to the British Empire, and lose no oppor-
tunity of working with tongue and with pen to destroy the
noblest sentiments and aspirations of our national lives. They
slander and belittle our country, proclaim Confederation as a
fraud, and the establishment of Dominion unity as a dream ;
prate of corruption, debt and taxation, and hold up absorption
into the United States as the only panacea for the evils under
which we lie, a policy which all true Canadians regard as dis-
graceful, disloyal and contemptible in both its inception and
its advocacy. And, although these views may have no impor-
tance in the eyes of the people of the country as a whole, and
may not even commend themselves to the Liberal audience to
which they are addressed, it is quite certain that signs of
approval and applause given to persistent detractors of our
national position and future prospects — even if conceded only
as an act of courtesy — are not calculated to impress outsiders

444

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

with an idea of intense loyalty. But we do not believe that
these persons voice the views of that great party. We prefer
to accept them as laid down by the Globe in its issue of March
4, 188; :

“ The value of Canada’s political status is not to be
measured in dollars and cents. Who that loves British con-
nection will appraise his feeling in money ? Where is the
U. E. Loyalist who will name a price at which he would
be willing to see Brock’s monument and the field of Lundy’s
Lane under the flag of those against whom his ancestors
fought ? Where is the French-Canadian willing to sell out
the pride with which he thinks of the battle-ground of
Chateauguay ?

Are young Canadians of so poor a spirit that they will
speculate in their patriotism and national aspirations ? We do
not believe it. Those who reckon Canadians as five millions
of stomachs make a profound mistake. Unreasonable they
may be called, but the sort of unreasonableness that keeps
people from subordinating their affections or sentiments to
their pockets has been universally defined as Honour.

“ Can Canada satisfy its demands and yet enter into the
customs union that we think would be profitable ? The ques-
tion is surely one to be discussed in a larger spirit than some
of our contemporaries display.

“ One unfortunate result of division of Canadian parties on
fiscal lines has been to imbue the people largely with the false
and dangerous notion that political institutions are not of the
first importance. Compared with the preservation of our
responsible Government the scale of our tariff is of little
moment. It should be thought of as nothing more than
a scheme of taxation to provide for the main concern — the
maintenance of our institutions. By treating the tariff as an
end instead of a means, the doctrine that self-government is
not priceless has been insiduously, perhaps unintentionally,
inculcated.”

“ The loyal and patriotic people of Canada can draw
a deep breath of relief this morning, and humbly and
reverently return thanks to the Almighty Dispenser of all good

Result of First Vote.

445

that He so touched the hearts of the people that they rose in
their might and entered a vigorous protest against the trait-
orous attempt to betray the country to a foreign nation”

These were the words with which the Ottawa Citizen com-
menced the announcement to its readers of the result of the
election, and there is no doubt that it found a response in the
bosoms of many who eagerly looked for the first news of the
contest. It was a desperate struggle from the first, and, from
the nature of the issue, was watched with great eagerness by
the outside world, and more especially by Great Britain and
the United States. It was interesting, as well as amusing, to
note the results as calculated by the different papers. The
Empire put the Government majority at forty-two ; and, from
that point, it descended through other Conservative papers to
thirty-two, the figure of the Montreal Gazette. Of the Oppo-
sition papers, the Mail conceded twenty-nine ; the Globe
twenty-seven ; and so on down to the Ottawa Free Press ,
which would not allow more than four. The New York Times
gave only one. Then the figures ran the other way, the
Quebec Telegraph claiming a majority of twenty for the
Liberals, and the U Electeur five more. Many men, especially
from the Province of Quebec, were claimed by both parties, so
that the question could not be decided until a vote was taken.
By the division on Mr. Cameron’s franchise motion, and subse-
quent declarations by members, it was ascertained that the
Government could rely on a majority of about thirty-one in a
full House.

The result of the first vote may be tabulated as follows :

Conservatives.

Opposition.

Majorities.

Ontario

.. 48

44

4

Quebec

30

35

Nova Scotia

5

1 1

New Brunswick

3

10

Manitoba

4

1

3

British Columbia

6

0

6

N. W. Territories

4

0

4

P. E. Island

4

Less Opposition majority in

Quebec and P.E.I

38

... 7

Total Conservative majority

•• 3i

446 The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

This indicates a majority of four in Ontario, the leading
province in the Dominion, and an overwhelming majority in
every other province except Quebec and Prince Edward Island.

Sir John Macdonald had a magnificent personal victory in
Kingston. His majority of seventeen in 1887 being increased
to four hundred and eighty-three. The defeat of Mr. Colby in
Stanstead was one of the most regrettable incidents of the
campaign. He was a representative of great ability, of whom
his Province had reason to be proud.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

Sir John’s strength gives way under the great strain of the campaign — He has an
attack of nervous and physical' prostration — Which is followed by paralysis
and hemorrhage on the brain — Sad scenes in the House of Commons when
the nigh approach of death is announced — His hour of rest had come —
Canada’s grief — Memorable scenes when Sir Hector Langevin announces
his death — Mr. Laurier’s noble tribute — Lying in state — The funeral at
Ottawa — The journey to Kingston — Lying in state in the City Hall — To
Cataraqui cemetery — The final scene — Movements to erect monuments to
his memory — Memorial services in Westminster Abbey — A memorial to be
erected in St. Paul’s Cathedral — Lord Dufferin’s tribute — Lines by Mrs.
Rothwell.

HE extraordinary exertions made by Sir John Macdon-

ald during the election would have been creditable to a
young man, but for a man past seventy-six years of age, they
were simply marvellous. He, however, over-estimated his
strength, and when he arrived at Kingston was quite unwell
and very much exhausted. His medical advisers enjoined
complete abstention from work, but his energy and anxiety
impelled him to break through their kindly restrictions, and
in a day or two he was actively participating in the campaign.
After the election was over he returned to Ottawa, and it was
hoped that he would then take a rest and thereby secure a
sufficient return of strength to be able to meet Parliament and
undergo the fatigues of the session. Had it been possible for
him to have done this, or had he been willing to leave his post
and go away for a holiday, he might have recovered and been
spared to his country for some time to come, but the labour
of preparing for the session, following so soon after the excite-
ment and bustle of the campaign, was too much for him.
When Parliament opened he was able to attend and direct
proceedings, but it was evident to all that he was not himself.
An unusual appearance of weariness was perceptible at times,
and it was observable that he was physically weak although
his mind was clear and bright as ever. He was always
cheerful, however, and moved about among his supporters
vol n. 449 29

Life’s race well run,

Life's work well done,
Life’s crown well won,

Now comes rest.

450

The Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

delighting them with anecdotes, or saying some kindly word.
After a few days his place was vacant and it was rumoured
that he had experienced a fit of exhaustion similar to that
which overtook him at Kingston. A week or so later he was
again in his place still looking unwell, but apparently better.
His last appearance in the House was on Friday, May 22nd,
when he was in good spirits, jocular and full of life. The next
evening he gave a large dinner party. During the early part
of the next week it was known that he was not so well, but
nothing serious was apprehended. On Monday he was suffer-
ing from a slight cold, but attended to business at Earnscliffe.
On Wednesday his symptoms became more unfavourable, and
Dr. Powell, his regular physician, expressed a desire for a
consultation. Sir John agreed and Drs. Ross and Stewart of
Montreal were sent for. The physicians met on the following
day, and after examining their patient, issued this bulletin :

Earnscliffe, May 28 , 1891.

Sir John Macdonald has had a return of his attack of physical and
nervous prostration, and we have enjoined complete rest for the present
and entire freedom from public business.

R. W. Powell, M.D., Ottawa.

Geo. Ross, M.D., Montreal .

Jas. Stewart, M.D., Montreal.

While it was recognized that it would be unlikely, if not
impossible, that Sir John would be able to take his place again
during the session, a hopeful feeling was experienced that his
immense vitality would enable him to recover, and that a
period of thorough rest would so recuperate his strength that
he could once more resume the duties of his high position.

On Friday morning re-assuring tidings were conveyed in
the following bulletin, which was posted in the hotels and all
places of general resort :

Earnscliffe, May 29 , 10 a.m.

The Premier passed a quiet and comfortable night, and this morn-
ing his physical strength shows distinct improvement since yesterday.

(Signed) R. W. Powell, M.D.

At 10.30 Sir John Thompson had an interview with him
for about half an hour. Although all business had been for-

His Hour of Rest Had Come.

45i

bidden by his physicians, the Premier could not refrain from
following his old routine and during the day gave directions^
with regard to certain matters that required attention. At two
o’clock a cablegram of enquiry and sympathy was received
from H.R.H. the Princess Louise, to which he dictated the
reply : “ Thanks for your gracious message. Am improving.”
At three o’clock, when the House met, the excitement had some-
what abated, and at fouro’clock, when Dr. Powell called, he found
Sir John sitting up and seeming better. In answer to enquiries
he was telling how he felt and what nourishment he had
taken, when the terrible stroke of paralysis came, and he sank
back unconscious. Further medical aid was at once summoned,
but hemorrhage on the brain had succeeded the paralysis and
the doctors feared that death would ensue in a few hours.
The sad news was conveyed to Sir Hector Langevin in a note
from Sir James Grant, and by him communicated to the House
of Commons.

Never in the history of Parliament was there a more affect-
ing scene than that which followed the motion for adjourn-
ment. As the Premier’s old companion, his own eyes full of
tears, announced the nigh approach of death to one whom
they all revered and loved, sympathetic glances and sympa-
thetic words were exchanged by political friend and political
foe, every face was a picture of sorrow, and the dimmed eyes
of his old friends showed that the loss of their leader would be
a personal bereavement, while among his opponents nothing
was heard but the kindest words of the stricken statesman, the
greatest admiration for his abilities, and the deepest regret at
the prospect of his death.

But the end was not to be yet. The dauntless spirit strug-
gled hard, and when the last bulletin was issued that night all
hope was not destroyed :

Earnscliffe, 11 p.m.

Sir John’s condition still continues very precarious. Loss of power of
speech. Respiration and circulation weak. Rests somewhat better than
during the afternoon.

Takes a moderate degree of liquid nourishment.

(Signed) R. W. Powell, M.D.

J. A. Grant, M.D.

Henry P. Wright, M.D.

452

Th